Multifandom

we have to go to the grocery store. i know that you don’t like it there because [anything they have said before about why it makes them upset] and i don’t either, but we have to do it. we are leaving at x time, so you have until then to [transition from what they were doing before]. when we are there, you need to walk next to me/hold my hand/(maybe give them a task such as counting how many types of fruit they can see in the store, a small activity to do, or a stim toy. keeping them grounded and entertained is good). it will take y amount of time, and then it will be over and we can come back home and you can do z [special interest related activity or other reward that will recharge their nd batteries after a draining experience]

autistic children grow up to be autistic adults. sooner or later they will have to go into a grocery store, maybe on their own, maybe every week, for their whole adult life. acclimatising them to knowing how grocery stores work from a reasonably young age, helping them learn that grocery stores are not scary, and that if they are scary they are at least endurable and that trips there don’t last forever, is going to be far more effective and helpful in the long run than simply teaching children that if they don’t like something they don’t have to do it. coping strategies are far more useful than avoidance for situations that are necessary.

Has he had water and a snack before going in?

“What?”

Has he. Had water. And a snack. Before going in.

“Well no but—“

He’s melting down and overloading because his basic needs aren’t being met but he isn’t recognizing it/doesn’t know how to communicate that. Grocery stores are inherently overwhelming but it’s worse when you’re dehydrated and your blood sugar is low. Those tiny water bottles and an easy snack like a banana while you’re sitting in the parking lot before going in and going over the game plan will help.

“Oh.”

Yeah. Also sunglasses. And headphones if you can. Also have you tried involving him?

“What?”

Hey *insert child’s name here* in this aisle we’re looking for milk, you know the kind we usually have in the fridge, it’s red with a white cap do you see it? Like that.

“No. I havent done that.”

But they will absolutely choose to hug me now of their own volition

Why?

Because I askes first and I respected it if they said no

Also my husband and I hug and they see hugging your loved ones as a positive

But we always ask and if Kiddo said no as a little kid we’d say “okay! How about a high five?” And that was usually enthusiastically agreed with and if they say no now we just say okay

Kiddo asks to hug me now of their own volition because they know it’s an option rather than a requirement

“Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist.”

And so students leave school with a thorough grounding in football and calculus, but having no idea how to sew on a button or change a tire. 

A Twitter user saw an ad for this neat, unassuming house for sale for less than $159,000. 

It had a beautiful yard, so he made an app’t to see it. And, that’s when things got weird. 

The living room was messy and tacky, but it had a nice spiral staircase, an open 2nd fl. balcony, and Mediterranean style. 

But what was up with this mural of outer space?

And these 2 creepy homemade aliens?

Well, the space theme continued into the dining room. The mural made it look like you were in a spaceship that landed on the moon- see earth off in the distance?

Hmmm. This looks like the conference room in a space ship. 

The kitchen is plain, but still has a few touches, as well as a “sealed” hatch door. 

What, you say you like the beach? This house has you covered. The bedroom has a waterbed and that’s real sand on the floor. 

The bathroom is a tropical rain forest. 

This 2nd bedroom is beautifully staged in a hippie retro theme- notice the square bed- it must be a cardboard box.

Look, this spare room is a blank canvas- you can make it anything you like.

And, I don’t know what this is on the mezzanine. 

The back of the house is nice, but it’s a little overgrown- the ivy is starting to cover some of the windows. It was sold for $152,500.