The Girl with the Curly Hair

So today i went to my second 'course' as part of the Girl with the curly hair project. Last weeks was about AS and Eduction, this weeks AS and Behaviour. I have to admit to hoping for light bulb moments last week but that wasn't to be. I appreciate that everyone is different so i shouldn't compare our child to everyone else's but you do. This weeks meeting was very different and i had many moments where i could relate to behavioural issues which is reassuring in itself BUT dealing with looking at everything from a totally different view point is another story. When you take for granted how we all receive input from the outside and realise it doesn't all work that way is alot to take in. For example, if you know you are talking to someone who can't hear you either have to talk louder, use hand gestures or learn to sign, but Autism affects so many aspects of what is normal for most of us and not in any one way and what was once an irritation and deemed a 'control' issue for me is now something totally different. Now i could give you a whole host of examples and you might be able to relate any one of them to your child so i won't but when you club all those little things together it makes for a big ball of confusion. My son asks me most days what Ive been doing, not content with I've been to work or shopping if i tell him I've been shopping he wants to know what I've bought, despite making allowances this is sometimes irritating, i have suggested he have my shopping list so he can see the specifics of my shopping. Taking on board the emphasis on them over experiencing emotions is helpful but teaching him to do all the things I've suggested knowing full well how difficult i find it on occasions is also easier said than done. Processing information.....personally this is something that really irritates my husband about me, if he asks me if i want to do something it's actually rare that i have  a strong feeling in the first instance so i will sometimes go for an auto response but when I've had time to think it through i may come up with a completely different answer or if I've had a meeting at school i may remain quiet and not say much only to compute the information over a matter of days and then go, hang on a minute that's not right or why didn't i say this etc so when you're arguing with a child who takes time to process all that you throw at them in a short space of time what are we expecting in return, never mind when one parent is reluctant to back down or leave things be so it's alot to deal with. I have made a start over the last few years but i  have alot to learn and un-learn as the case maybe. Auto response to all that comes my way where our son is concerned. Thinking through new ways of discussing frustrating situations with situations at school and with friends, getting to the bottom of why he feels the way he does, why he reacts the way he does and worst of all how others react to him when he does. So I'll continue to learn and hope that i continue to support him in any way i can and that in time he will progress in a positive fashion as we hope all our children will.