TiP fOr TuEsDaY

Patience.
This is a hard one for a lot of people, in some areas I find it hard too. This isn't going to be one of regular tips where I share advice though, this will be a direct experience. I have an 11 year old son and he has Asperger's syndrome. Asperger's syndrome falls in the Autism spectrum and is not obvious when you look at him. Many people can tell something is a little off with him when they try to have a normal question/answer conversation with him, but other than that he is a happy and well behaved boy. He may be 11 in age, but emotionally he is only about 7 and I love him so much and I have to be very patient with him. He tends to be repetitive in his actions/likes and in his language too. He is currently obsessed with Pokemon and Legos, along with video games (about Pokemon and Legos). He doesn't like change and gets upset if I don't warn him first that we're going to be doing something else. He is going to Intermediate School in the fall and I have had to talk to him, visit the school, drive the route home many, many times already and school doesn't start again until August! Many things that parents take advantage of, I still have to help him with. I have to help comb his hair, help blow his nose, help brush his teeth good enough. I have to help him remember to talk to people when they talk to him and to wave at his friends. I have to remind him daily that other people have feelings and that he should try to be mindful of them too.
Patience pays off though, I watched it with my own eyes. My son and his younger brother were talking about pooling their allowance money together and were going to get a Lego set. Before we left the store we stopped by the video game section and my son decided it would be a good idea to save up his allowance money to get a video game he really wanted. His younger brother was upset because he didn't have enough money for the Lego set alone. His younger brother was pouting and my son was picking at him because he doesn't read facial expressions well, nor does he understand social cues. I asked him to leave his brother alone and grabbed something off the shelf. I turned around after and he was hugging his brother (who was still pouting), I was about to ask him again to leave his brother alone when I heard him say, "I'm sorry...I know you really wanted the Lego." He recognized that he hurt his brother's feelings and felt bad enough to apologize to him! He has never done that on his own, ever! I made sure to praise him for doing the right thing in hopes he can do it again.
Being patient pays off, especially when it comes to your children. I'm still not patient in all areas of my life and I know I need to work on those areas too. Being patient with my kids is a priority in my life and you should try it too, it might just work for you! That's your Tip for Tuesday!=0)