Page 1 of 1 [ 4 posts ] 

BigSnoopy126
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Gender: Male
Posts: 172
Location: 5 miles north of 5 miles south of me

15 May 2013, 12:11 pm

I'm borderline enough it might just be PDD-NOS. My main traits are I'm very literal at times, have some difficulty with social cues which I always thought was my poor vision/hearing, and used to have a lot of trouble sharing my interests & such.
I have gotten better at all that since i was self-diagnosed, and just working on these things has helped a lot once i realied why I had the difficulty I do.

I empathize well, but the way I do it is unique - I literally put myself in the other person's shoes, I don't just think what it might be like, I imagine myself as that person. So, I can imagine thigns better than some with autistic traits.

I've always worked well with kids. I find the ones in my church so much more honest and understanding than some grown=ups at times, in fact. I can work with a class on memory verses and such really well by myself, though if I adopted I'd probably want just one.

I just wonder if anyone's gone through it? I'm so compassionate I'd want to adopt every single one, but I recognize that and at least tell myself someone will, but if I can I'd like to.

Right now I'm just looking into it. I've examined all the different problems that arise - like reading that 80% of kids in foster care have some emotional problems. I've read the boards at adoption.org and know what I might be in for; I also had a friend in high school who was abused as a child who needed mentoring, and when our coach asked me to help I jumped in headfirst not knowing what I was in for.

I know I'd need a kid who was open and willing to talk about their feelings and some are. I know I could provide a loving home and the kind of structure one needs, and would involve them in lots of fun activities (one of my obsessions has been learning, in fact - I think I started that way becasue I was so into school and that was the way to get positive feedback so I figured it was that way with all of life) and give them the time they need and provide suitable boundaries (I'd probably have so many behavior charts to keep track of how they were progressing in things it'd look like a football team's playbook :) )

However, I also know it's really tough, and just practicing stuff in my head is way different than doing it. So, have any of you done it? tried and failed to get a match?



Marcia
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Age: 58
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,148

15 May 2013, 1:27 pm

How do you get people to let you wear their shoes?

Edited to add: I have never wanted to adopt, but I have cousins who are adopted and I have friends who've adopted.



lelia
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Age: 73
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,897
Location: Vancouver not BC, Washington not DC

15 May 2013, 7:15 pm

I adopted two children. For one of them, I was the wrong mother. She never did accept me as her mother. She lives several states away and now we get along better.



BigSnoopy126
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 13 Feb 2005
Gender: Male
Posts: 172
Location: 5 miles north of 5 miles south of me

16 May 2013, 8:45 pm

I'm sorry. that must have been rough.

It's funny, I guess I'm not always as good at guessing what a person is feeling as I think, but I do have what I call templates that help me to make sense of thigns. I'm glad I didnt' try to adopt in my 20s. Back then I was still literal enough I thought crying was always a sign of really being hurt since I can't tell real tears from fake oens and so on. And, I was a real pushover. Now, I use templates to help me try to make sense of thigns,a nd I've read exhaustively about kids so I can imagine pretty well.

But, yeah, it's not foolproof. But, that's where the talking comes in. I'd likely say some things that sound lie Data or Mr. Spiock on Star Trek. :) "Shall I presume you are bothered by thoughts of your birth parents?" Things like that.