Post few things you love about your sp. need child? What have you learnt from your sp. needs child? (autistic, Asperger)

[vparent]

My son is 3and half yr rite now. We came to know about his autism a year ago.
This last one year has been a tough one for us. Though it came as shock but as a mother, I always had faith in him and loved him always for WHO HE IS.
He is so caring, loving and always smiling...seeing him smiling, gigling and laughing takes away all my stress.
He is for sure made us realize that Life is All About LOVE...SPREAD LOVE AROUND

[tulani]

I just had to share this with someone and I think the posters here will love it.

Most know my son is 28 and has Asperger's. He still lives with me.

The other night we were having a discussion about the additives in food and how bad they were for a body. I was trying to tell him that plants and animals grown/raised organically are much better to eat. (Mind you, my son does not eat fruits or vegetables, raw or cooked. He gets them mashed up in cookies and cakes.)
He has no idea what they really taste like, so in his mind he somehow thought "organic" meant nasty. He actually told me that organic fruits and vegetables taste worse than non-organic. It took me a long while to explain to him what "organic" meant and I still don't think he quite understands.
He left the discussion still thinking chemicals aren't all that bad.
I can't wait until we get more venison and elk steaks. He's been afraid to try them (he is reluctant to try anything new - although he did try rye bread in 2010 and now has one more item in his limited diet) because they are not cow. I am going to cook him a piece of cow steak and elk steak and he WILL see and taste the difference.

It's little things like this that make me smile. He thinks he knows so much (at times) and then comes out with some really off the wall things. I'm left scratching my head wondering where he learned these things.
Gotta love 'em.

[nana053]

What I have learned from my special needs grandchildren is to celebrate small victories. With my grandson, who is 7 and classically autistic, I love the fact that he is in kindergarten with neurotypical children and that they take care of him and love him even though he doesn't always talk to them. We went to the Valentine party for his class today and he was so excited talking to the little girl who sits across from him. It was not really functional language, but he has a relationship with her despite that. (I think she is like an extra kind *mothering* little girl. He has to work so hard to do the things that most kids do without any thought. It's a joy to see him make progress.

[midwestmom]

Main thing I've learned is patience. It makes me stop and appreciate all those little things that my sp dd is so enthusiastic about that she can't help interrupt me 10 times while I'm trying to read one page of a book for instance. It's also why I wait till she's in bed to finish those last 5 pages.

What I love is her literalism. I'm the one who's slow to understand things like why she keeps freaking out everytime I sip my coffee or water while driving...because I'm "drinking and driving" which is "dangerous" Took me weeks to understand her translation of her school's safe driving instructions...lol While it can be annoying (hey, I'm still learning more patience) she's so completely earnest about her translation that we can't help but smile over it.

[AnywhereElse]

I have a 24 year old son with Down syndrome who is low-functioning and what I have learned from him is that many people are just really pathetic. He gives 200% to get maybe a 50% result and has gotten up everyday for 24 years and put in the 200% without giving up. He is a true high achiever in his own right so much more than those who see him as "lesser". So that is what I love, that he gives 200% and doesn't stop. From him, I have learned what other people's souls really look like as he brings that to the surface and while a few look good, many others do not.