ABCs of Life, Love, and Social Skills

One role for parents of a child with autism is showing your child “the ways of the world.” Aisles of bookstores show no one knows everything about being a human. Social interaction involves risk, but rewards can be breath-taking. Didn’t you need someone who understood you? Parents often want to prevent pain, but that misses the point. Healthy friendships inevitably involve pain, separation, or longing.

For someone with autism or another communication disorder, the world moves too quickly to see and put together interactions among other people. There’s a bubbling mess of gestures, facial expressions, social groupings, shades of word meaning, turns taken, and tones of voice.

Parents have unique opportunities to teach socialization. Many children and adults need help with social skills. Some appreciate the help, and some don’t.

Start early. Almost every teenager will act on romantic feelings, even if it’s not obvious to you or teachers that it’s about feelings and sexuality. Adolescence, however, is when they are wired to stop listening to adults.

Any teenager will have romantic feelings. Bittersweet love and broken hearts are not inevitable. Romantics know, romances don’t always break. I am privileged to know a devoted Bergen County couple with Down Syndrome who met in early intervention three decades ago.

The following is a love story: People with high functioning autism who taught themselves how to love and be good life partners.

Autism Love Story Teaches Us How to Teach Love and Respect

Non-fiction True Love Story
In brief, it is the love story is of a couple with high functioning autism. They had each studied social skills through self-help bookstore aisles and other readings. They met and agreed that each liked lots of time alone, doing their preferred activities, but neither wanted to be alone. They wanted to live together on mutually agreed terms. In order to start the relationship, they had gotten themselves training. In order to sustain the relationship, they created their own ground rules. They live together in peace.
https://intimateexcellent.com/2013/04/12/true-love-story-of-real-couple-on-the-spectrum/

Skills needed for life’s challenges change as we mature. Everyone at every level can learn more every day of their lives. An experienced speech language pathologist observes, instructs, and coaches meaningful social skills.