Autism and High School
Well its official, we have moved beyond the world of not thinking about what Autism would look like in adulthood to being smacked in the face with it. AGGGHH HELP. What it looks like at this point is that Caleb will have a Social Skills class, much like the one he has now, everyday. He gets 1 elective which for Caleb is always art. I can remember him being a 6 year old and we went to the Library. At our local library the is this statue with a little boy holding a teddy bear and my mom look at me and says "Mom, why do you think the artist was thinking when he used a teddy bear?" I have never been able to look at art and see those things so as you can imagine, I was shocked as well as clueless. Ever since then he is a very talented artist who blows my mind. I cannot draw a straight line with a pencil so it was important to me that he have the chance to continue this. He is also freaking out about having to take two years of foreign language but they said because his plans are community college he can get away with one year.
He will also have a Tie, which I am told is an older student to help him get from class to class. They also help with academic things he may need help with. I am scared to death of this whole concept. I am worried he will get bullied and having these kids help him will make him more of a target. I grew up with a mentally impaired and Autistic sister. She is much lower functioning then my son (my son is very very high Aspie) but I can remember being in stores and people following us around for the sole purpose of making fun of her. It made my heart hurt and she is 9 years older than me. So far my son had avoided being picked on, however I went to the same high school he's going to and I was picked on from time to time. I was a middle of the roader who had lots of friends, so how is my 14 year old who's greatest wish is to find a friend going to do?
I will not speak to his feelings to much on here because I feel that they are his feelings and should be private, unless he gives me permission to share. He does attend a social group for teens every other week. It is expensive but I feel that it is money well spent. He has only been once so far, but I feel he enjoyed it. He was overjoyed to discover that the game they were going to play that night was Dr Who Monopoly. He loves Dr Who. I am hopeful that this will help him with Social interactions with peers and maybe he can make a friend or two.
At 14 we are still battling Sensory issues to the point that we are still only eating a few foods. This is a source of great embarrassment for him because have you ever met a 14 year old who doesn't like pizza? When he was young I thought he would outgrow the food aversion, but as it turns out, he just becomes more rigid in his ways. Our health insurance wouldn't cover much of this stuff when he was little and now he is Very set in his ways. I have tried the old addage of "he will eat when he is hungry" Whoever came up with the clearly didn't have a child with food aversions. He didn't eat for 4 days.
I am not sure who is more scared for High School, Caleb or me. Have you guys been through this? Any advice? I do not pretend to be the Yoda of Autism. I think we all have a lot to learn. Picture below is my Son, My daughter, My father and Myself on a recent trip to Crystal River FL
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