My son will be 11 soon.

[KCee30]

Ds is 10, 11 in a couple months.

In the U.K age 11 us wear masks wearing becomes compulsory right? He's still in primary obviously, so not at school but in shops etc?

Hoping we will be in a better place by the spring.

He is on the spectrum so I guess that makes him exempt if he struggles but I'm trying.

I've tried to get him to wear one. But it really distresses him and he ends up constantly touching his face to move it around which really defeats the purpose.

He doesn't like anything near his face - hats, scarves, hair cuts, glasses etc. When we go tie the dentist he won't wear the goggles they give you!

I'm hoping by the time he goes to secondary school things will be better!

Fingers crossed 🤞

Any tips?

Thanks all. Ds really likes rules and following them but because of his age and none of his friends wearing one he hasn't

It may change for him if god forbid they are still needing them in September (I'm hopeful we won't be, not in schools anyway). If he sees other kids wearing one, he might follow the crowd as likes rules. But it would still be a huge responsibility him looking after a mask, not losing it and not getting mixed with others. He's very forgetful (most likely has adhd too but only diagnosed with asd).

Time will tell!

He's just had covid too and it was very very mild. But I know he can get it again and masks are there to protect others too.

Don't worry he's exempt, please don't distress him

Just like to add, everyone on the spectrum is different. I'm an adult on the spectrum and I like masks. I feel almost protected and hope people don't recognise with a mask so I don't have to talk. Dd is also likely on the spectrum (getting a diagnosis is much harder). She's younger and I don't make her wear a mask but she has on occasion, she wanted to buy some glittery unicorn ones.

Just Ds really struggles with anything near his face 😪

My son has a sunflower lanyard... he had it before covid hit but never really liked wearing that either. He hasn't used it at all since covid...

We've never been questioned by shop staff thankfully but have felt judged by other people.

Me and Ds was behind a man in queue (an outside queue) and we must have been 1 meter away. Ds doesn't like getting close to people himself anyway but there was also people behind Ds and myself.. The man told Ds off for being behind him and no mask - but it was outside anyway!! Plus the bloke was stood closer to the person in front of him than Ds was to him. Baffles me! It's not like Ds was stood right next to him.

If he looks young for his age, then I just wouldn't worry about it. My DS has ASD and is 11, and I've asked him to wear one ever since they have been compulsory in shops, but my DS is really tall and looks more like 13/14.

DS doesn't really struggle with mask wearing (as PP says, I think he likes to hide behind it), but point blank refuses to be tested and has also informed me that he will not under any circumstances be having the vaccine!

If anyone has any tips for getting a 'procedure phobic' child to do a covid test, that would be appreciated. My DS has refused hair cuts for over 2 years now, so now we have a hair brushing problem, too!!

@KCee30 my boy has exactly the same issues with personal organisation, and DS usually puts mask on upside down. Lets hope they are not needed by the time our kids go to high school. Mine has just have Covid too, fairly mildly, although it is hard to know with DS, as he tends to soldier on without really noticing that he is unwell.

I would not give the opinions of strangers the time of day over your child's needs. If he can't wear one he can't wear one it's as simple as that, if others have an issue with it that's their problem not yours or your dc.

@landofgiants covid testing is a nightmare for him too so can sympathise. Hair cuts aren't great either but we've made small progress with that.

Yeah I don't think end even get one on properly himself without someone helping. I think he would be constantly misplacing it too.

Let's hope things get better this year!

@landofgiants don't think the vaccine would happen here either. At least we don't have to worry about it right now. I think he would freak at the sign of a needle.

@KCee30 our boys sound quite similar

I've struggled myself quite a lot with Covid rules and have come to the conclusion that I'm being a bit too rigid about some of the guidance which maybe I would be better off interpreting more loosely. I don't mean the stuff that is set in law (like self isolating when you've got covid) but a lot of the other stuff. I'm not autistic but I think it is an example of 'black and white' thinking and it has certainly caused me more stress that it should have.