Symbolism as a Communications Form

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I wish I could be equally as optimistic right now. My "friend" must not have liked my second symbol of acceptance/friendship for him to see because he has now become highly avoidant once again. There are two paths he can follow to get home. The easier path (that I call the south path) takes him right past my apartment balcony where he can see anything I have on display up close. The more difficult path (that I call the north path) takes him 75 feet farther away but also allows him to get a better, less angled view into my window (I am up on the third floor) at times when he wishes to do so. He has often done this in the past presumably out of intense curiosity. He normally takes the south path except when I have gotten too close and at those times he starts taking the north path until he becomes curious once again. The day after my last symbol, he began taking the north path again so it told me that an offering of friendship was too much for him to handle since he REALLY does not like the prospect of being around people and has always pushed people away vigorously unless they are only present at a distance and for very brief times. So now I find myself avoiding him once again for his own comfort, although it is what my instincts tell me is the exact wrong thing to do. But I am only half Aspie so I can see both sides of that picture.

This puts a hold on my plans for the other symbols because if he does not get close enough he will not be able to see enough of the detail to understand it. My next symbol will be the multicolored (and painted in dayglow paint) autism jigsaw puzzle symbol to let him know I realize he is autistic and both accept and understand him for it as well as being the same myself. The symbol after that will be the blue single piece autism speaks symbol. Both will be presented in multiple forms but I do not want to leave them out there on display for too long so as to not let it be seen by too many people who pass by. I only want to leave them out there just long enough for him to pass by and see it. So if he does not come close enough or is avoiding me then he will miss something and may not be able to understand it properly. I have been placing these symbols out on a post supporting the outside corner of my balcony where they are clearly visible to him. I think what I will do until he can moderate his avoidance is to place them above the door frame on the inside side of my balcony. The dayglow paint will still stand out enough to catch his attention but not so much as to be too obvious to everybody else. Hopefully the new and different symbols will make him curious enough to want to take a closer look.

Yesterday I walked into the hardware store and saw a woman with her kid standing there who just had to be very profoundly autistic. The whole time I was there he stood there with his mouth wide open staring out the door way off into space. A year ago I probably would not have recognized it but after my own awakening last summer, I immediately recognized it for what it was and once again was shown just how widely diverse the spectrum is.