No one but you guys would get this..

[Livesforbedtime]

Ds (7, ASD/ADHD) tonight wanted to stay up late.. I said no....

He put his hands together in the prayer sign way, stuck out his bottom lip (massively over exaggeratedly) and went pleeeeeeeaaaasse mum.

He has NEVER done something like that before.. Screamed obscenities, thrown things at me.. But never pleaded... It was the first time in a long long time that I had to deal with something that looked NT in origin...

He got 10 more minutes.. Which will no doubt bite me tomorrow but for tonight I'm going to smile that my little boy tried to manipulate me lol :D

Oh lovely, smiling with you!

I too try to concede whenever the request is made in a super-effortfully 'nice' way....

How great.

Weird isn't it, when we 'celebrate' what in an NT child would be downright manipulation. I did an inward "yessss" when my ds (also nearly 7yo, ASD) fibbed for the first time (not about anything serious). Granted, his lie would never work as the evidence was clearly against him, and he was seriously unconvincing . But it's the development of theory of mind, which is definitely worth celebrating

It is indeed bizarre. I have a 9yo (NT) daughter and those tactics have been attempted since she was about 3 and I rarely if ever give in.. But I was so shocked.. And then I found myself wanting to analyze it...

Is this progress or mimicking? Does he recognise what he's trying to do?

Then I took a breath and slapped myself - got to start seeing the good instead of constantly making note of the bad!