To not have corrected this woman today?

[ChunkyMonkeysMum]

I went into town today to buy DS1 a big number 6 helium balloon for his birthday on Thursday. (I promised him one of these as he has ASD and is obsessed with balloons!)

The shop only had 1 left and it was pink!! I decided to buy it anyway as DS1 loves pink and I had promised him and didn't want to let him down.

The girl in the shop inflated it for me and put it in a massive bag. The bag was quite see through.

I then went into another shop and spotted a little pink trinket box which I was looking at buying for my niece for Christmas. A lady walking past said to me "Ooh, she'll love that" then pointed at the balloon and said "When's her birthday?". I automatically said "Thursday".

AIBU to have done this? Or should I have said "Well actually the balloon is for my son who's birthday is Thursday, but this is the only colour the shop had left, and I'm looking at this trinket box for my niece for Christmas"???

Do you think you should have done because you think that you didn't because maybe you were embarrassed about him liking pink

and if you'd corrected her it would have been proof that you love him just as he is?

I think you love him as he is. I wouldn't worry about it.

You know, if you had started to explain you'd still be in that shop now, yattering away about that lady's grandson who looked really sweet in her grown up shoes last weekend, and how in her day little boys all wore dresses until they were about five years old, and so on and so forth.

Personally, I quite like a long aimless yak with an old lady I've never met before, but you have to have quite a lot of free time to fit them in.

No, he didn't over hear, he wasn't even there.

No I'm not embarrassed about him liking pink. In fact, in the card shop where I bought the balloon i asked the sales assistant if they had any other colours and when she said no I said "oh well I'll get it anyway as my son likes pink, it's just my hubby who might not be very happy!"

And yes, I do love DS just the way he is. I have even bought him a pink Hetty Hoover for Christmas because that's the one he wanted, despite DH's efforts to pursuade him to go for Henry!!

have a lovely time on Thursday!

Thank you, we will!

It would be odd to explain I think, but then I'm always correcting people RE my baby aunt's age (she's 6, looks/acts like a toddler though, very entertaining )

See I think this is the classic, when you have a child with ASD you have to explain all the farking time so sometimes,when you don't it feels weird, thing

I went through a stage where I felt like I had to explain my son to everyone in every situation. I didn't want to be judged, I didn't want him to be judged, I didn't want people to feel foolish when they misunderstood one of our situations. It became completely knee jerk and DS1 used to mock me (" excuse my mother, she has a thesis on autism she would like you to hear if you have the time")
Now I don't care. I even smile at people who say things like "hes a bit old for soft toys isn't he" or " has he left his DVD player at home"
Sometimes I make stuff up " "they are for his sister" and " no,we just stole these and are taking them home"

You did the right thing not explaining. The thing I repeat quietly to myself is " they really don't care, they are just making conversation"