Curt's blunt honesty, a trait of the autism spectrum disorder, has been addressed on here several times but it's a subject that never really gets old. Since most of our social norms and behaviors are foreign to him and not at all instinctual, he lets a lot of things slip out of his mouth that other people wouldn't. In other words, he doesn't have much of a filter. Plus, he's also almost uncontrollably drawn to excess body fat. That's a bad combination.
The few times I'm shirtless around the house, Curtis will spot me and get a look of determination in his eye. He yells "belly!" or "dad, you're so FAT" and does his best to slap my belly fat before I stop him. I tend to carry an extra 10-15 pounds above my ideal weight at different times and Curtis is relentless and unforgiving in his quest to make this known whenever he can. To Curtis, there is simple math involved to how much you sure weigh and anything above that is fodder for discussion...or maybe it's ridicule, regardless, it's never malicious, but born more out of curiosity as to why I weigh more than I should. We've noted that you have to have a thick skin to be around Curtis and he proved it in spades during our recent Vermont trip.
While Laura recovered from gallbladder surgery, it was on me to jump in the water with Curtis and have a good time. But not before I took off my shirt to get in the water. With parents, kids, lifeguards, and sea life looking on, Curtis points to my stomach and screams "Belly! Belly!" and runs up to me. A thick skin sure comes in handy here. Naturally, we tell Curtis not to do this and explain how socially inappropriate it is, but at this stage it's still a difficult impulse for him to control. Another time as we ate dinner, a shirtless camper walked by the cabin and Curtis said, almost within earshot,  "Oh my God, he's so fat, he's much fatter than you, dad". Sometimes we wonder what we're supposed to do with a kid like this.
But I have to admit, Curt's relentless heckling makes me want to do something about it. There is often a method behind his madness. And when I ask him to lay off the belly comments he says, "but I just want you to live for a real long time, dad". I told Curt a couple years ago to reprimand if I order a cheeseburger and he never forgets. He stays on top of my bad habits and inspires me to change them like no one else. So, inspired by his humiliating scene at the camp, I came home and started making fruit and  veggie type shakes and am back down about 5 pounds. We'll see if it sticks but if it doesn't, I know exactly what's coming.


Greg, Dad

Curtis is nothing if not honest. While this a common characteristic, Curtis sometimes takes it to the extreme. Like many other children with autism, Curtis likes to keep things plain and simple even if that means hurting someone’s feelings. This is just one reason you need to have a thick skin if you are going to be around him because if he doesn’t want you there, he will be the first one to tell you that even if it hurts your feelings. That being said, no matter what you will always know exactly where you stand with Curtis. Over time we have been working on the fact that sometimes his complete honesty can be hurtful to people, but this can be difficult for him to grasp because he knows lying is not okay either. He hasn’t quite learned that sometimes it’s okay to smile and nod or give a neighbor or acquaintance a friendly hello even if you don’t care to do it. Now that he is in school, these simple social interactions are even more important for him to understand. Fortunately, Curtis has spent a great deal of time studying people’s facial expressions and what they represent. This has come in the form of casually identifying emotions while reading books, looking at clearly labeled pictures, practice drawing facial emotions, and questioning myself and others about what X emotion looks like. Because he has had all of this practice he has become more aware of how his actions or words affect other people around him. He still second guesses himself when identifying these emotions and often will ask, “Are you mad?” or whatever other emotion you may be trying to convey. Fortunately, I have a long standing trusting relationship with him so when he does ask I am able to answer that yes I am mad at him and he knows that I will still show up tomorrow in spite of this. Perhaps his little challenges are his way of making sure that he knows where he stands with everyone else as not everyone is as blatantly honest as he is.

Jamie, In-Home Support