Our son is 11 and has been diagnosed with Asperger's/ASD for the last six years. My wife and I are undiagnosed, but are very much on the spectrum as well. Our relationship has gone through a fair bit of turmoil, as well as our individual personal and professional lives. I'm just looking for reassurance that our "normal" fits with the experience of others. My wife and I both struggle with intimacy and communication. Our professional lives are marred by an odd combination of perfectionism and an inability to fit in and/or be reliable.
I have the role as the dedicated parent, while my wife is the bread-winner, by virtue of our professions, which complicates things. Our son is terrifyingly smart, but struggles with sensory overload and his own perfectionism and anxiety.
I'd love to hear the stories of others in a similar position.
Our son had his first full week of school this week which resulted in a full meltdown on Tuesday afternoon. When I came to pick him up, he had calmed down and was focused on shape blocks with the principal and his aid. I asked him what had happened during the day. He replied that he was falling behind in the assigned work and after taking a break, he came back to the room and was even farther behind. This triggered the meltdown and he left the room without permission. I asked him what could have made things better. His response was, "Occam's razor. I just needed to stick with the simplest answer. I couldn't believe I had had to explain it to the principal."
09 Sep 2016, 12:56 am
