I was listening to a 30 something man with high functioning autism and I felt a profound sadness when he shared this simple truth ...“Sometimes I feel pretty lonely. I like to drink tea and sometimes tea is meant for sharing.".
My focus for the last 13 years has been on whatever stage of the process Nick was in.
First it was early diagnosis and his health then early intervention, then inclusion, proper school settings. Most recently I'm thinking about surviving puberty, community safety, housing and employment related things. Sexuality was on my mind as it related to puberty, inappropriate behaviors and keeping him safe - but not so much in terms of sexuality and relationship building.
I've had mom's mention getting Nick in a sex ed class and I consciously took no action because I thought it was inappropriate, over his head, out of his sphere of interest and understanding. But hearing this man speak was just one more shift, one more bonk on the head, one more reminder of my limited thinking when it comes to seeing Nick as a complete person, in this case a complete man.
This is definitely another example of Nick's future being impacted by my limitations, more than his. Okay, seems a special ed class is in our future. Still feels funny. I've gotta get over it.
First it was early diagnosis and his health then early intervention, then inclusion, proper school settings. Most recently I'm thinking about surviving puberty, community safety, housing and employment related things. Sexuality was on my mind as it related to puberty, inappropriate behaviors and keeping him safe - but not so much in terms of sexuality and relationship building.
I've had mom's mention getting Nick in a sex ed class and I consciously took no action because I thought it was inappropriate, over his head, out of his sphere of interest and understanding. But hearing this man speak was just one more shift, one more bonk on the head, one more reminder of my limited thinking when it comes to seeing Nick as a complete person, in this case a complete man.
This is definitely another example of Nick's future being impacted by my limitations, more than his. Okay, seems a special ed class is in our future. Still feels funny. I've gotta get over it.
If you're on this part of the journey here's some info I found. If I had any doubt that I was slow to the party this website confirmed it!
http://www.autismsexeducation.com/
Quite a blog. It is good to see a professional weighing in on such a sensitive subject.
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