Feelings

Children with Autism have a hard time expressing their feelings in the ways society do. It's not as simple for children autism to understand why they are feeling a certain emotion. I believe for my oldest son he has the feeling much later then the actual event. However so he called out to me from his room an hour past bedtime. He never goes to sleep when it's bedtime. He needs time to shut down his mind and reflect on his day. So it's not unusual to have him sing out around the same time every evening. " Mom " he said with big tears flowing down his cheeks, " I don't know why I'm feeling sad but I am " I held him in my arms and told him it was ok to be sad and cry. That maybe one day he was sad but too busy to cry, like at school or when he was playing at the playground. That maybe he is just remembering now that he was sad. He agreed and finished his cry. A few minutes later after we sat for awhile he said " Maybe I'm crying because you wouldn't let me get that DS game last week at the store." I grinned and told him it was a nice try but to get to sleep. He smiled back. :)