So, a new toy store opened in town today - and the DCs and I happened to go in (didn't know it was opening, it was a chance - DS saw it as we crossed the street, and since we had nothing better to do, I figured it would not hurt to check it out).
Well, we spent over an hour in the shop, and as it was the first day, the manager, assistant manager and the area manager were all there...
While DS (15) was wandering around with DD (7), I struck up a conversation with who I didn't realise at the time the District Manager and she asked me if the DCs were mine. Figuring that a complaint was forthcoming, I said that yes, they were mine, and VERY excited about this new shop in town.
Well, the DM asked me if my DS might be interested in a job 
as she had been watching him and she thought he would be an excellent fit for the "team" there...
I guess, while walking around with Bee (in her wheelchair and too weak today to push herself), DS had been obsessively organizing the stock in the shop. He had fixed a broken Playmobil bus on display, then arranged all the little plastic figures and lined up the boxes on shelves into neat rows.
She had tried to engage him in conversation, and said he responded with enough information about one of the crazy expensive Lego sets that he had been looking at that she would have bought it herself. He was excited about it, because he is taking a course in robotics at school, and they are using a similar (but older) set to build their models.
The DM has suggested that DS bring in a CV on Monday after school, and she looks forward to talking with him. Apparently, she has a LO with ASD, and saw it in DS immediately - but also understands that, while they may struggle with interviewing, in a place like a toy shop. highly verbal young people with ASD can really find their niche...
DS told me that if he is hired, he is REALLY excited that he will have enough money to buy the bus he fixed, because it is an "awesome" toy and he knows Bee will really love playing with it (I don't know about in the UK, but in Canada, Playmobil toys are considered "premium", and command a price that matches - the bus the DCs were playing with was almost $40).
It really warmed my heart that this manager was willing to look beyond DS's struggles with conversation and face to face communication and see that he has a very real ability to contribute. It excites me that DS has a chance to prove that he has very real and very valuable skills, even if he can't idly prattle on about football scores or the weather.
And... it makes me feel old - how did I get old enough to have a DS who is old enough to have a job?