The Young Aspie Parent (An Intro)

Well, Father's Day just came and went. Mother's Day was last month. Since the start of May, a few friends have announced that they are expecting their first (or even next) child. One thing that I've always believed is that the most challenging responsibility there is would be fatherhood. You're essentially setting up the next generation by becoming the guiding light.

With that, there are two words that a woman could tell me which would be worse than my nightmares: "I'm pregnant."

Why is that so scary? It's kids!
I don't want kids right now.
Are you really going to be one of those "I'm never having children" pricks?
No, I don't want kids right now, and may not ever. However, I'll do my best to avoid being a douche when talking about it. Having a child at this time in life scares me because I'm not ready. Then I think to myself when I would be ready to unleash my spawn on the world, and how long it may take.

So it made me think about how a person on the spectrum who just turned 30 could fare if parenthood were thrust upon him. The challenges of trying to raise a child when you hardly understand the body language and will definitely be giving up any sense of control. That's my concern about being a parent...the part that mandates we be empathetic. While I've mentioned enough times that I've improved my social abilities, I'm unsure I could handle it at this point when my world isn't quite settled down. Granted, this is a problem that some neurotypical people face also. However, the way I would handle this stress could involve some of my tantrums from when I was younger.

I've been so focused on other aspects that family is something I could not attach myself to, and my experience with little children has made me rather squeamish. For some reason I really can't deal with babies for the same reason I struggle with pets, and that's the communication barrier. Plus, not getting much time around them.

There's still too much to consider if it comes to someone with my abilities having kids, which would run on over too many entries. I'll be talking about this more over a few entries into the beginning of next month. One entry will feature perspectives from those on the spectrum with children. One entry will discuss the aspect of logic in "researching" child rearing. Plus a piece on more of what I don't understand, even my own upbringing. There's a lot worth mentioning about kids.

As of now, I just had an excuse to use that image.