This week is parent-teacher interviews at our school. We got the progress reports for both boys. Nathan is performing solidly at grade level and Alex's is mostly a long list of "not applicable" since he is on a very modified curriculum.
There is always a tricky balance between expressing concern and making oneself into a nuisance when it comes to interacting with the school board. This is one area I have to be careful with my husband. Since he has Aspergers, he doesn't always recognize the finer points of being tactful. But he does come up with some really great and helpful insights for the boys.
I don't know if anyone has done any actual studies but anecdotally, I think there is probably a large percentage of parents who would discover they qualify as having autism once their children are diagnosed. Certainly I have my own spectrum traits: I don't find casual social interactions intuitive and I can certainly get obsessive about my own interests. It takes me awhile to get to know someone well enough to 'read' them and understand how they're reacting. Once that happens, I can develop a real friendship but until then, I try to be very cautious about what I say.
I hope that my experience and my husband's will let me form a bridge between my children's world and the outside world. Maybe they'll have an easier time of it since their parents will understand that they're not being obtuse or difficult. We can teach them the things which other people will expect them to just 'get' without any help.
And if nothing else, we can all be outsiders together.
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