The cat's out of the bag

I spent yesterday afternoon cooking and baking, in anticipation of my sister and brother-in-law coming over for dinner last night to celebrate his birthday. Abby helped me make the coconut cupcakes (Dave's favorite) and while they were in the oven, I decided it was a good time to talk with her about her diagnosis. I told her I wanted to get the book from her therapist and read it with her, and she was game.

The book, called All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome, captured her attention right away. She loves animals, especially dogs, but cats are a close second, and the cute and cuddly kitty photos drew her into the book immediately. She wanted to read it herself first, so I let her, and then we went over it together afterwards.

I grouped some characteristics touched on in the book, which Abby has or has had in the past, and she was able to self-diagnose. We talked about it for a little while, and then she wanted to move on to something else, which was fine, of course.

I told her that she could talk with Earl or me any time she wanted. I also explained that not everyone knows what Asperger's is, unless they have it or know someone who has it. She immediately responded, "Okay, then I won't tell anyone I have it."

I explained that it didn't have to be a secret, but that it might be complicated to explain it to people who didn't know what it was. She seemed to understand.

When I tucked her in bed last night, she was reading the book again. She hasn't brought it up today, and that's okay, too.

***
It is snowing here this afternoon, and it was a really, really big problem for Abby a few minutes ago. It's not the winter. It's still the fall. Will the snow come in the house? Will we have to shovel? What if it snows on Halloween? You name it, she was concerned about it. Big sobs, big tears. Big hugs from me, big reassurances from Earl.

Snow in October is an unexpected change, and unexpected changes can be really hard for people with Asperger's. Things that the rest of us would shrug off with an "Oh, well," or an "I can't believe it's snowing!" are disproportionately stressful to some people with Asperger's, or any form of autism spectrum disorder.

Abby has calmed down, now, but it was a good 10 to 15 minutes of weather-induced emotional crisis in our house. Thank goodness it's blown over, for now.