Recently D has had some issues at school and there have been physical altercations mainly on his part though there *may* have been provocation. It’s hard to know.
They say that if you have met one person with Autism, you have met one person with Autism. The theory being that Autism is so different in each person that no two people have exactly the same symptoms. One of the few common traits of Autism across the board is Social Communication difficulties.
D cannot read most facial expressions. He can read happiness, but if we are irritated or upset he doesn’t see it until it is extreme. Growing annoyance or boredom on a peer’s face doesn’t register with him. Realizing that someone else might not enjoy the same things he does or that someone else isn’t thinking the same thing he is, is hard for him to comprehend. He also has a slower processing speed so when friends tell him not to do something, it often doesn’t register until it has become a big problem. His brain just works differently than many of the people around him.
This can cause a lot of misunderstandings with peers. So while we don’t condone biting or hitting, it can often be a manifestation of his disabilities as he struggles to communicate his emotions, thoughts and understand what is going on around him. Years of Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy have helped but there will always be a deficit there.
Charlie, (his service dog) helps him work through some of his feelings and helps him not take it out on others at school. It makes the other kids more interested in D and more willing to be kind about his idiosyncrasies.
But despite all of his differences, it doesn’t excuse physically acting out against others. He has to deal with the consequences just like anyone else. He does have the intellectual ability to learn. It’s just going to take a lot longer to learn and educating the world around him so that they understand we’re working on it.
