I hate to say it, but my ASD kid could be a real pain when she had no social skills. She would dominate discussions, would be rude and mean, and no fun to play with. Let's face it, folks, our kids are not always fun to be with...it's hard enough for us, and if you're not around enough to get a taste of the good stuff, too, why would you want to bother? So - having said that, I had to really work with my ASD kid to make her more pleasant, to model how to play something all the kids enjoyed (say, hungry hungry hippos). It could not be charades, bec. my daughter would come up w/something weird nobody could possibly guess! MOvies would only work if I chose it, or my daughter would want to watch Endangered Animals 8 times in a row!

Play dates w/relatives required prep time. Consider having the relatives meet at a playground, and address it honestly w/your relatives, acknowledging the downsides to your much loved child. It might be a relief, and they might be more willing to talk to their own kids about making more of an effort. I find giant bubble sets (w/lots and lots of wands) work well, too.

We need our extended families. We really do - and what's more, our kids do. Sorry - I hope nobody gets too mad at this post.

This is one of the hardest things that comes with the diagnosis.

I tried to be patient with my friends that had a hard time tolerating my son. But after a while those friends just faded away because we knew our son made them uncomfortable and so we were around them less and less.

It's harder when its family. For years, my mother tried to convince me to put my son away. I've seen the look of disgust on my father's face. And they recently excluded my son from a "gift" that they gave to all the rest of their grandchildren. It hurts. I've tried to educate them. They attempt to act interested. But I know they don't like him and it's hard for all of us.

My parents are aging and I can't just drop them from my life. So now I write regular letters but I don't see them very often.

Fortunately I have a lot of other people in my life that care about my son. Most people at church are wonderful and I can depend on them to pray for my son.

I have said goodbye to many "friends" for not accepting my child. They aren't friends if they don't love my kids and me!

I am fortunately very lucky. My friends all love my son. They realize that he's special and they go out of their way to make him feel special. It helps that he is a really sweet kid and hard not to love. Have you ever tried talking to your "friend?" Maybe ask her if she wants to read up on ASD. Sometimes people who are unfamiliar with Autism think kids are just misbehaving and that we are bad parents. Talking to her may work.

I haven’t experienced this personally as of yet, but I can tell you with no doubts, that this person would no longer have the privilege of being in the company of my son, EVER. Our children are just as important and special as anyone else’s and I would not tolerate that sort of treatment around my children, not even my NT ones. I don’t expect everyone to like my children, but they dang sure better learn to smile and say hello and be polite when we are around. If they can’t do that then they obviously don’t care enough about you either!

Sorry but we parents have to overcome tons of hurdles each day, I dont think this should be added to the list.