Feeling Things Too Deeply

One of the points on yesterday's post was that people with autism aren't emotionally cold, instead they feel things too intensely.

We got an example of that yesterday.  Nathan was at school and dropped a ball.  When he went to pick it up, another child got to it first.  Nathan got so upset that he hit the other child.  According to the teacher, he then immediately apologized and made sure the other child was okay.

It's been a few months since Nathan's last violent outburst.  But he routinely gets upset if his expectations aren't met.  Once he's upset, it's impossible to calm him down.  He needs time and space to calm himself down before he can handle any kind of interaction.

I've talked to him about having big feelings (which is something I still struggle with).  Feelings that are overwhelming and leave us feeling as if we have to do something to let them out or else explode.  I've learned coping techniques and I'm trying to pass them on but none are instant successes.  It took me many years of practice to get them to work for me, so I'm trying to be patient with him.