All my children are home this week. While I am excited and happy to have my house full, I don't mind admitting I am a little anxious as well.
Eli and Caleb have always had an odd relationship. Eli is what is classified as "neurotypical" (NT) while Caleb lives life on the Spectrum. Neurotypicals, even when they interact daily with their ASD family members, sometime find it difficult to understand why they are unable to have a "normal" relationship with said family member. The situation is no-one's fault, but it can make for some difficult moments.
Now we add in the weirdness of not having seen each other in a couple of months, plus the fact that they are both adults now, and we have the potential for disaster!
One of the hallmarks of Asperger's Syndrome is extreme difficulty with non-verbal communication. NTs communicate non-verbally so well that it is innate and automatic. Aspies use intelligence alone and will generally learn to mimic an accomplished NT role model; in our case Caleb mimics Eli. Sometimes an Aspie, without a social guide, will opt out of social situations all together.
Caleb has been home for three days now. It is interesting watching Eli and Caleb learn to interact with each other as adults. Sarah has been a very good intermediary between the two of them as they navigate a new relationship as adults and all the NT/Aspie complexities that come with it.
Hopefully, I am being a worrying mommy for nothing!
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