Are there suggestions for books for a young teen (boy) that would help to teach emotion? I know books are a way to teach children things they wouldn't already experience. How about teaching about emotions?

I figure I still have the same kid. I have been wondering how he would get/maintain a job, deal with mean/ manipulative people, and even find a wife. The diagnosis would just give words to what I see anyway. And, it would help him work around his struggles.

He can write well. His writing is actually very good and he uses some nice descriptions that include some good vocabulary. His handwriting is horrible.

He went to speech therapy for 3 years and no one picked up on quirky. He was just shy and introverted. Only in the past 2-3 years have I noticed that his behavior is starting to get a little more strange - such as the pacing and the inability to grasp social situations.

A little more now than in his past. He's 12 now so a stent of a few months of depression had added to the list of concerns and got him his own therapist. His oldest brother has severe physical and mental handicaps so I've been around autistic children for a long time. I guess the difference is that the autistic children I know were on the severe side where it affected day to day life and routine. Ds has never been close to that category. He's a flexible child who does roll with changes (at least outwardly - I have no idea what's going on inside in his head). Ds is more along the lines of a child who may have never gotten diagnosed and goes on to be an engineer with awkward relationships who loves his work. Just like my dad. My ds is much like my dad. My dad went on to have a family and friends that were never really close and owned a business. He wasn't the best businessman and got taken advantage of by poor employees, but we was somewhat successful. My dad was awkward to be sure socially. My ds reminds me of him all the time. But then, he has moments where he is completely enjoying the book we are reading right now. It is full of verbal puns and nuances of language that are put in there to be humorous. He laughs at the appropriate places and does get the dry humor of it.

All of these separately seem to be character issues but together the therapist seems to think something else is going on. He is stealing time on the computer (up late into the night until we figured out what was going on) and food, lying about it and has no remorse nor does he seem to understand why we're upset about it. He has a lot of trouble with relationships and can't look people in the eye. A new friend comes up to him in church to see if he wants to hang out in a different area of the church. Ds doesn't respond right away nor does he even look the friend in the eye. It seems to take him a minute to figure out what to do about the request. After the awkward moment I step in and suggest he goes with his friend and actually respond to his friend by answering his question. When he talks to me, it's often in a stream of consciousness with few breaks to see if I'm understanding what he is saying. He usually does this while he is pacing back and forth. I will often grab his arm to keep him from pacing so that he can look at me while he talks. One time, he talked while pacing in a circle around the table I was sitting at. When the therapist saw him, there were a lot of tears from just trying to explain what he was feeling. There seemed to be no way for him to communicate his true feelings. Most of the time, if he wants something he'll just say, "bike" or "wrestle" which to him is enough to communicate that he wants to go for a bike ride or wrestle with dad.. We have to tell him to use a full sentences. If he wants a hug, he'll just stand next to me. He never hugs back and even when I bear hug him, he likes it, but shows no emotion with it. He tends to get along better with children 3-4 years younger than himself better than people his own age or older. He likes to do activities when we make him, but never wants to go back even though he enjoyed them a lot at the time. For example, he loved a computer camp he went to, but when asked if he wanted another one the following week, he wasn't interested. He describes his life as "scrambled" and "not having information needed to understand what is happening". The therapist seems to think there is a breakdown of sorts with understanding nuance in communication and responding in kind.

I have written on the forums before about my 12 year old who I thought was depressed and too withdrawn. He has no outside activities and really doesn't care about activities or making friends. He was also starting to get quirky in behaviors. He has started to be seen by a therapist because there are some behaviors we didn't know what to do about. The therapist (45 years experience) is referring us to a physchologist/neuro type person to figure out if there is a sensory processing disorder with him - especially relating to other's and his own emotions. He does have some sensory issues in that he hates certain type of clothing, but it's not all that restrictive. It's not surprising to be going this way. Ds behaves appropriately in public and is pretty easy to get along with but I can see that developing a close relationship with anyone could pose a problem in his future. I feel like I still have to teach him how to relate to a person his own age. I feel like a life coach with him sometimes. Basically, what should I be looking for or asking?

I have written here before about my 12 year old who I thought was depressed and too withdrawn. He has no outside activities and really doesn't care about activities or making friends. He was also starting to get really quirky in behaviors. He has started to be seen by a therapist because there are some behaviors we didn't know what to do about. The therapist (45 years experience) is referring us to a physchologist/neuro type person to figure out if there is a sensory processing disorder with him - especially relating to other's and his own emotions. He does have some sensory issues in that he hates certain type of clothing, but it's not all that restrictive. It's not surprising to be going this way. Ds behaves appropriately in public and is pretty easy to get along with but I can see that developing a close relationship with anyone could pose a problem in his future. Basically, what should I be looking for or asking?

After we had lived in our home 10 years (we built it), everything decided to break at about the same time. The fridge, the stove, the dishwasher, the washing machine, the garbage disposal, and the hot water heater along with a variety of small appliances. I called it appliance armageddon.

Ditto on snakes in the toilet...and yes about being in public and someone with a hypodermic needle with some sort of drug in it waiting to stab me. It used to be hypodermic needles in the mailbox but we don't have a large one anymore. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also, I call he fuzzy brained stage the "giant toddler stage". There are many similarities. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The scary thing is that they let 15 year olds get permits and by 16, they are allowed to drive. Whose idea was that? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes! Build-a-Bear. We thought they could manipulate the questions a bit. I wonder if the question was asked in store Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not much of a movie fan because they are usually too long and I don't have time for that. Hidden Figures was really worth it though. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My MIL has a pillow that she's had for over 50 years. Every once in a while, she opens it up and stuffs more feathers into it. I have similar only mine is only 30-35 years old. The outside fell apart so I repurposed an only pillow case to hold the smattering of feathers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They have a really good pre mixed kale and broccoli salad. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would like my son to read more classic books - think Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Count of Monte Cristo type books. It seems as if he needs an intermediate step. Are there any classics that are considered "starter" classics? Something that would be a little bit easier to read, but help him eventually read true classics? He can read around the world in 60 days type books. Anything else?

I would like my son to read more classic books - think Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Count of Monte Cristo type books. It seems as if he needs an intermediate step. Are there any classics that are considered "starter" classics? Something that would be a little bit easier to read, but help him eventually read true classics? He can read "Around the World in 60 Days" type books. Anything else?

I have red and brown curtains from Ikea. The price is awesome but they are not light blocking. Light filtering yes, but not if you want a room that is totally dark. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My husband ran across an article that said 40% of adults sleep with a teddy bear. Really?!?

You have to give them credit...they took a business and jumped on the popularity to make it a huge multimillion dollar business. Same with the pioneer woman and her blog. They may be a short spark in the grand scheme of things, but they are making a lot of money off of that spark. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

garage--it doesn't get too hot in the summer here and doesn't get too cold in the winter. Mostly freezing overnight if anything during the winter. Not too cold to go into the garage if needed.

I am a person who's son qualifies for respite and we even have an agency that provides workers. I HATE having people in my home when I'm home. I can't rest. I can't be myself. I always feel like I have to be doing something intensely to feel like the respite is warranted. I've canceled the only two respite appointments I've made and switched agencies to one I feel more comfortable with. I totally get why your husband would want to cancel. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My daughter who is pretty socially adept has commented, "They treat us like cattle there!" She hit the nail on the head but I didn't let on to her that it's a pretty good comparison.

Yes--I'm still a little in and a little out of the whole thing. Being a little bit more on the outside of it all, I am seeing a LOT of burnout and mothers who are completely overwhelmed trying to be everything. I totally understand why to homeschool and I really wish we had true school choice for everyone. Where I lived before, there were no choices really. If you didn't like the local public school, you could try the one charter school 15 miles away and hope you worked through an unbelievably long waiting list. If you had foresight, you would put your child on the waiting list when they were 3. In our new location, there are multiple charter schools within 10 miles of my home. A TON of choice in schools and we can choose any of them restricted to possible waiting lists at some other the more popular ones out of district for us and not at others within our district. A lot more homeschoolers I've met here tend to pop in and out of different public school programs based on the child.