Yo not no understand SN child

[dogsflying]

Posting here for traffic also.. my older son is autistic. When I take him to new places he often wanders around with a dazed like expression on his face. He doesn’t show excitement at seeing a new thing. He has this habit currently of putting his hands doing his shorts which I’m forever telling him to stop.. dunno is it a comfort thing?

I was talking to a friend who’s son also autistic and when she brings him out he shows excitement but my son doesn’t seem to.

I know u couldn’t compare but is anyone else’s child similar? Like with a very neutral/expressionless face?

hes 8

My son shows excitement but about the things he loves TV shows games. New places (even things he wants to do) he will zone out due to overwhelm - it’s his way of managing. Sometimes he looks like he wants to go to sleep but it’s just overwhelm and him shutting his brain down and the world out so he can manage a situation.

Try not to compare as no two people will behave the same.

Maybe it’s worth reading around/watching you tube/tiktok just to give yourself some wider knowledge/experience of how autistic people and the nuances/differences. It can feel very overwhelming.
xxx

Ok thanks for replying and yes my son also shows excitement about things he loves

I’m back for another question regarding my autistic son. So over summer holidays we’ve been out lots (with younger sibling) to various day trips etc. some he shows enjoyment but others not. My issue is at home he LOVES the Xbox and won’t really engage in much else no matter how hard I try. So it’s like he associates Xbox with home as when we were on holiday recently there was no Xbox and he coped fine.

it’s kinda like this is his special interest that I hear many autistic people have. I’m just worried it’s a bad thing? I can’t hide it as my husband uses it in the evening although I did hide the controller today when we got home and he was sad but watched tv instead. My husband isn’t worried as he said he himself grew up watching /playing Xbox games or similar, it’s just our son is about 3 years behind I think. He’s 7 and a half and can’t write his name, don’t think he can read unless in his head by sight but can’t read out loud and is speech delayed although getting there

any thoughts or advice welcome

What support have you had since his diagnosis, OP?

You don’t seem very aware that a) ASD is a spectrum and children experience it very differently or that b) parenting an ASD child is completely different to parenting a NT child.

My nephew is 5.5 and profoundly autistic - non-verbal, no sense of danger, very clever but not in line with other children his age. But you can’t really compare them. How he experiences the world is completely different to other children. He often stands motionless and without expression while he is taking things in. He usually has to test new things out by balancing them or balancing himself on them. He has 2 iPad-type devices: one has his programmes and games which are used to calm him and at mealtimes (he has ARFID and has narrowly avoided needing to be fitted with a PEG but my sister needs to eat) and another for communication which he takes everywhere including school (he generally manages about 2 hours a day).

I don’t know about the Xbox specifically but it probably depends what he is doing on it and the effect it has. Personally I think a grown man should be able to not play computer games if in the best interests of their child but you’d need to take professional advice on that.

@AmIHumanOrAmIAYetiyes I do understand it’s a spectrum and as for my husband I do agree and it’s an ongoing battle