About

My name is Sally Wagter.

I am a teacher but more importantly I am a parent of two children, the oldest of whom was diagnosed with autism at the age of nearly three.

While we were sent on a roller-coaster ride of tests, evaluations and assessments, nobody gave us any concrete ways to help our child.

They only directed us towards experts. Although experts can be really helpful, we are with our children for many more hours than any professionals and we are the real experts where our children are concerned and have the highest motivation to see them succeed.

Reports about my son at the age of 4 said ‘severe speech and language and social communication disorder’, ‘reliant on routines’, ‘no awareness of danger’, ‘not able to eat independently’, ‘ no interest in interacting with peers’, ‘behaviour unpredictable’ ‘can’t cope with too much noise’, ‘can become very fixated on one particular aspect of an object or activity’, ‘high frustration levels and tendency towards temper tantrums’, ‘very inflexible and very focused on his own routines’ and ‘never been seen engaging in imaginative play’.

I was told I’d ‘be a lovely Mum to a normal child’, that ‘there are good homes around here for when he’s older’ and when he was eight, I was told by his Headteacher that I just had to look ahead to assisted working as the school couldn’t teach him anything.

He has been in the infant, primary and secondary school systems, has been in school full and part-time and has been educated at home for seven years.

His biggest progress happened when I became empowered and found out ways I could help him myself.

He is now 16, has loyal and genuine friends; loves his independence; has passed exams; and has just been offered a place at a prestigious music college in Brighton.

We chat for hours, he shares his deepest feelings with me and he loves learning. He is full of realistically hopeful dreams and aspirations for his future.

The changes to his life opportunities have been unimaginable and they have all come about because we learnt to first understand and then how to to best help him.

It has been quite a journey!

My upcoming books – Miracle in Slow Motion (part 1 and part 2):

Over the last six years I have been writing a book about my parenting journey. Due to the length of it I had to divide it into two parts. The first book is soon to be published. If you would like to be amongst the first to find out when it is available, please email me at sally_wagter@hotmail.com

Miracle in slow motion part 1:

This book covers my son’s development from birth up to the age of 11. I chart his diagnosis and the many years of learning to understand him and work with him which led to the most significant changes of his life.

Miracle in slow motion part 2:

This book covers his development from ages 11-16. I include all the techniques we used to help him and highlight his attendance at his own film premiere surrounded by friends as well as his successful attendance at a mainstream college.

If you have any further questions or would like to have an informal chat please contact us!