This blog from psychologytoday.com explains some non-typical, or as we call them with Curtis, "unexpected" behaviors, from people on the spectrum. Sensory overloads caused by crowd noise, bright lights, sudden loud sounds, sensitivity to touch, etc. result in behaviors that can be tough to witness and difficult to correct. Time and patience go a long way and it's a learning process for the child and parent. Here are some of the behaviors mentioned that immediately reminded me of Curt.

1.) Supermarket floor tantrums: These were pretty embarrassing to be sure but it was cool to read this as an item on a list. I hadn't made the connection that this behavior was common with autistic children, I thought maybe it was a Curtis specialty. These happened frequently enough when he was younger where Laura and I would try not to bring him into a grocery store if we could help it. I think at the time I assumed it was something he just had to get used too. In hindsight, the fluorescent lights and noise may have just been too much to handle when he was very young. His main goal in any grocery store once he could walk was to free himself so he could sprint down the aisles. When he wasn't allowed too a tantrum was likely not far behind. If he did break free, you never saw a happier kid in your life as he ran down the aisle.

2.) Haircuts- When Curt was younger it was just easier to let his hair grow long. He was very sensitive to getting it cut and a pair of clippers was out of the question. Actually, clippers are still out of the question. I think we've only done that once.  Having his hair pulled and cut at the same time there is a buzzing sound in his ear proves too much to handle and we respect that. We have turned a trip to Snip-Its into an event and though sometimes apprehensive, he's willing to do it.

3.) Classroom Focus- The blog mentions the difficulty for some children on the spectrum to copy down homework and simultaneously listen to a teacher's instructions. This is just one of many reasons Curtis is helped by having an ed tech in the classroom. He has not yet developed that ability to handle two tasks like this at once. On his own, An entire school day would be lost for him in the first 10 minutes as he missed one crucial instruction while paying attention to another. Being able to pay attention to two things at once is something we constantly work on with Curtis and is a huge goal in mainstreaming him in school.

What I found most interesting about that blog was the comments. One in particular from a teenager with autism and others discussing the topic. As "neurotypicals", our focus can be to try and change the way kids on the spectrum are doing things and try to get them to execute a script. The comments express that it's not always this easy. Even for a person on the spectrum who has been taught a script, the over stimulation of a situation can force all that out the window. Any one of us can relate to not doing what we're supposed to do even if we know what we're supposed to do because of a situation we're presented with. As a parent or teacher, all we can do is be patient and try to help them with what they are going through because we don't know what that type of over stimulation feels like. Their experience is very different than ours, always has been, and always will be. In many ways, it's unrealistic to expect someone whose brain is wired differently to conform to our ways of thinking. All we can really do is help them.

Greg, Dad