Hello from an Aunt with an Aspie Nephew

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Joined: 7 Aug 2009
Gender: Female
Posts: 6

08 Aug 2009, 9:03 pm

Just a hello from a new member.

I'm here looking for advice on how to be the best Aunt possible to my 11 yr old Aspie nephew. We don't live in the same area, so see one another half a dozen times per year. He does know me and love me and we are always happy to see one another.

I find myself getting more concerned for him as he gets older. Behaviors that were just "a little odd" when he was 8, are now more glaring faux pas. He has mild AS, and is a very bright kid -- I think he does realize he is different, but he has ZERO defenses against teasing, and it breaks my heart to think of how hard the young teen years will be for him.

I'm looking for direction on how to best support him.

Thanks.

sgrannel
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Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,919

09 Aug 2009, 12:23 am

This situation sounds a lot like mine, in which I'm the nephew. My aunt was concerned about my differences, which I didn't understand at the time to likely be a form of autism. Why don't I socialize and deal with all the dating stuff that's apparently required to live a normal life? Is something wrong? Am I in trouble or possibly a danger to myself? Will I turn out like Adolf Hitler or Ted Bundy? I appreciated her concerns, but I guess things turned out OK in spite of everything. Just remember that sparse contact in adulthood has a different meaning now that you know what you know about him. I would have been better equipped to make use of what people were trying to do for me if I had known about AS back then.

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A boy and a dog can be happy sitting down in the woods on a log
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OddFinn
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