My son says the ASD is my problem not his so he is not interested in reading the research or the postings. He has a great attitude towards his ASD...mostly based on our willingness to allow him to be unique. I have a lot of friends with teenage kids and they are having some really lousy problems with their kids, drugs, sex, breaking curfew, disrespect....not all of them...but many! My son says that all teenagers are screwed up one way or another so ASD is just another thing to deal with. We never treated it like a handicap and I know I say this often but instead we embraced his uniqueness and thankfully this has allowed him to feel really good about himself and who he is. My sons take is ASD is just a personality trait...he says some people are mean, some people are insecure, some people are funny, he is analytical and a little anti-social...so what! I have to say this has worked for us. He is very high functioning and can go off in his own world and as his parent it is my job to pull him outside of his comfort zone and usually he goes willingly.

I haven't had my daughter read these responses, I think partly because this is a place I come to vent and don't always want her to see that. But I can imagine pointing out a particular post if I thought it was helpful. I still like the idea of a "junior myautism team."

My 12 yo is a verbal and my 10 yo is a nonverbal. What we may understand, they may not (i.e. sarcasm, insults, etc.). I have let the kids read things I think they may enjoy or what may interest them, but I also monitor everything!!

Cyndy,
Well said, and a great philosophy to live by!

If that wasn't clear, I'm referring to what we write here on MyAutismTeam.