A window

I'm so excited to see that Nate has posted! Also, it's great to see other people have marked their locations on the map. No comments yet though. We'd like to hear about your experience, especially if you are a young adult with high functioning autism/ PDD-NOS, or a family member.

I think it took a long time for anyone in our family to realize that Nate had something more. We didn't realize he wasn't just being a quiet, easy going kid with a very contagious laugh. When you live with him every day and grow up with him, you don't see it. It was junior high, I think, when Nate was first tested.

I am still in denial. I always feel like Nate teeters right on the edge of being just like the rest of us, and if he would just make the leap or if the conditions are just right, he will. The reality is that I am imposing the expectations of a majority, non-autistic society. Nate's experience, and his life, will be unique. What becomes clear to me is that I don't understand his experience. I don't really know what it is like- his perspective, thoughts, feelings and experiences. Often, his facial expression and body language does not convey all that is going on inside.

Maybe this blog will be like a window for Nate and his family.