Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Thanks for listening
Dear Darren,
You’re doing a great job of thinking about other people lately. You thought to go and help your step-brother get ready for Easter over the weekend. And you asked me about my Easter instead of just talking about yours. That meant a lot to me. I miss our extended family at holidays, because we all live in different parts of the country and can’t always visit. This year seemed particularly hard somehow. The weather was cold; it just didn’t seem like spring. Thanks for asking and thanks for listening.
People with Asperger Syndrome often just want to talk about their own interests. They forget to pay attention to see if their friends and family are even interested in hearing so much. They forget to ask questions and forget to let other people talk sometimes. Asking questions and listening to others is one of the biggest gifts you can give the world.
It was particularly nice of you to listen to me talk about my emotions. Emotions are important. Sometimes people with Asperger Syndrome don’t like to listen to people’s emotions. But it can help if you remind yourself that you don’t have to fix other people’s emotions. You don’t have to make people happy if they are sad. It’s their responsibility to change their feelings themselves, if they want to, when they’re ready. What you can do is let them know that you understand how they feel.
I appreciate that you were willing to hear that I was a little bit sad at Easter. And it was okay, I’m strong enough to be a little bit sad sometimes. And now I’m happy again.
Thanks for listening!
Love,
Mom
You’re doing a great job of thinking about other people lately. You thought to go and help your step-brother get ready for Easter over the weekend. And you asked me about my Easter instead of just talking about yours. That meant a lot to me. I miss our extended family at holidays, because we all live in different parts of the country and can’t always visit. This year seemed particularly hard somehow. The weather was cold; it just didn’t seem like spring. Thanks for asking and thanks for listening.
People with Asperger Syndrome often just want to talk about their own interests. They forget to pay attention to see if their friends and family are even interested in hearing so much. They forget to ask questions and forget to let other people talk sometimes. Asking questions and listening to others is one of the biggest gifts you can give the world.
It was particularly nice of you to listen to me talk about my emotions. Emotions are important. Sometimes people with Asperger Syndrome don’t like to listen to people’s emotions. But it can help if you remind yourself that you don’t have to fix other people’s emotions. You don’t have to make people happy if they are sad. It’s their responsibility to change their feelings themselves, if they want to, when they’re ready. What you can do is let them know that you understand how they feel.
I appreciate that you were willing to hear that I was a little bit sad at Easter. And it was okay, I’m strong enough to be a little bit sad sometimes. And now I’m happy again.
Thanks for listening!
Love,
Mom
