16/12/2023
Anyone else?
Eight years ago, I surprised my (autistic) godson with tickets to Legoland.
His response when we showed him the tickets was shy laughter, 20ish seconds of silence, and then "...Can I have a Dr Pepper?"
It was hilarious. :) And the reason it was hilarious was because his mum and I acknowledged *exactly* how ecstatic he was inside his head, and we didn't place any importance on immediate performative responses. After all, it was quite a surprise to deal with in the moment. (And 8 years on, the "Can I have a Dr Pepper?" line is still a funny story that we tell with love and appreciation. Because that's how you do it- mutual humour and warmth, rather than obsessing over whether their behaviour meets expectations.) -Chris Bonnello - Autistic Author
[Black text on white background with holly in the corners, reading:
"Shout-out to the other autistic children who offended people while unwrapping Christmas presents, because even though you were really happy with the present, the look on your face and the tone of your voice didn’t match their expectations.
To those who learned you were supposed to be more “visibly” happy, or else kind people would believe you were rude or ungrateful.
And to those who still have ‘performance anxiety’ about opening presents, even now as an adult."]