Certainly you are welcome to post here. We have people posting from all over the world; although the majority are in the US, other are in the UK, Australia and elsewhere. It can be hard to know what behavior is part of the "normal" range, or just a stage, and what is more unusual and requires extra help. If you are worried about your son, or feel that his difficulties are making his life harder than it should be, asking for an evaluation is a reasonable step. It can be hard for fathers (or mothers!) to recognize when their kids need help, especially when they aren't together all the time. We all want our children to be healthy and smart and perfect in every way, and admitting that isn't the case can be difficult. At the same time, as a teacher, your partner may have insight into the range of normal kid behavior. He may turn out to be correct that your son's behavior falls within that range. It's still okay to ask a professional for an evaluation to make sure. My own philosophy is that the worst outcome is not having a label or diagnosis. The worst outcome is having a condition that could be helped, but not receiving help because a parent is frightened of a label. We only have eighteen years or so to help our kids toward an independent adulthood. We need to use that time while we have it to identify and provide the help they need. The Explosive Child is a fantastic book, but it is not for kids. It's for you to read, to help you deal with your son's meltdowns. I hope you'll read more here and keep asking questions. The Learning Challenges board here is especially good for the issues you're having. You'll find helpful people with lots of experience and insight.

For autism research, I like Spectrumnews.org. In general, Reuters and BBC have very good free online coverage.

What you describe sounds very much like my dd, who has an autism diagnosis, at that age. I would also recommend a complete evaluation. Please know that life can often get much better and easier once you have an accurate diagnosis and appropriate support. In the meantime, the book you linked might be a good one to share with him, but I would particularly recommend The Explosive Child for you to read. It sounds like you may be in the UK, rather than the US. I'm not sure where you would need to start for evaluations, but I'd start by talking with your pediatrician and making clear just how hard life is for your son. Try to go prepared with a list of the sorts of situations which cause problems, and be persistent. Getting started can be hard, but help is available.

I would second the recommendation for Tony Attwood's book. Autism is such a complex and highly variable condition that I think this sort of full treatment would be the most useful. Many books aimed at young kids understandably fail to capture the complexity, but I think a teen who is trying to understand a friend better might end up frustrated when the simplified view bears little or no relationship to the person they know.

We had it with just the pears and grated cheddar in the little cavities where the core had been. No mayonnaise. Pears and cheese is actually a good combination.

She's lovely, and you must be so proud of her courage. What wonderful news!

Wow! Thanks, that looks very interesting.

Interested!

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Bumping

N/m; thanks.

That's awful. How frightening for the families who worship at that mosque and others across the country. I hope they'll be able to rebuild quickly, but I'm afraid it will be hard for them to feel secure. I hope their community shows they are welcome and valued.

I need to do this.

I am so very sorry.

He is so beautiful. Many gentle hugs for you and dear Nathaniel.

Thinking of you all.

My heart is breaking for you. Know that Nathaniel has touched so many people in his life. I will hold you all in my thoughts.

Thinking of you this evening and hoping it's been a good day.

Oh, hurray! I'm so glad he's doing better. Hope today brings more good news.

Still thinking of you all.

Thinking of you and fervently hoping that Nate improves.

Yup, ASD was my thought, too. My dd on the spectrum also understands figures of speech, though when she was younger (preschool-2nd grade, maybe) she thought they were *hilarious*, and they always distracted her from the rest of the conversation.

Thinking of you, Nathaniel, and all of your family, and sending hugs and hope.

There's a theater near us that does sensory-friendly movies fairly often. I think they keep some of the house lights on and the volume down a bit, and sensory issues are understood by the other patrons at those showings. Any chance there might be something like that within driving distance? If it were my kid and had been promised, we'd have bigger problems *not* going, than going and dealing with the sensory issues. Ymmv. I think I'd be inclined to explain ahead of time about the noise and general intensity, see if the dc still wanted to go, and give it a try. But you know better than I do what the consequence of overstimulation is likely to be for your ds. Hope you can work out a solution.

Yes, wrap it well and it will be fine.