i'm moving in with friends, and would appreciate some input.

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amicandacontroller
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04 Mar 2013, 6:11 pm

I'll preface this by saying that I know I overthink everything.

I'm going to be moving in with my friend and his girlfriend by the end of march. They are willing to deal with me while I figure out my own independence, and I'm very grateful. That in itself isn't really what I'm concerned about.

They have a 5 year old autistic daughter (much higher on the autistic scale than I). I've never really dealt with a severely autistic person, let alone a child. I love kids, and generally interact with them better than most adults. All I know about her is her name and that she can't talk, she just emotes.

I don't know much about the subject beyond my own asperger's diagnosis, and I don't feel comfortable just needling them about it, since I remember my own mother intensely disliked discussing it with others short of professionals.

I'd just like some advice from either parents, or people who have dealt with this thing before, so can sort of prepare myself before hand, so to speak.



goldfish21
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04 Mar 2013, 6:33 pm

You're assuming they wouldn't want to discuss it because of the way your mother was. Don't do that. Ask them about her & let them know your concerned about how you'll interact with her and them etc and would like a bit of info if they didn't mind. They might really appreciate that you cared to ask in the first place. If they don't want to talk about it, they'll tell you so - but chances of that are slim to none if they're willing to have you move into their home with their daughter.



amicandacontroller
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04 Mar 2013, 10:38 pm

Good point. Sometimes I don't realize when my mother's ways of thinking give my own opinions a wedgie. Thanks :)



Ettina
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05 Mar 2013, 12:34 pm

Quote:
They have a 5 year old autistic daughter (much higher on the autistic scale than I). I've never really dealt with a severely autistic person, let alone a child. I love kids, and generally interact with them better than most adults. All I know about her is her name and that she can't talk, she just emotes.


Ironically, I find kids like that easier to relate to than NT kids.

Also, sounds like this could be a really good thing for you. Parents of an autistic kid are a lot more likely to understand your quirks.