Ryan and I often talk about being “stuck.” How we define “stuck” is dwelling on a topic of conversation ad nauseum. It may be that the skiing season is over, or that he has “used up” all of his sweet treats for the week, or he can’t wait for his sleepover at Bryant’s. When he was younger, this perseveration could lead to agitation (behavioral incident) unless you acknowledged the topic and entered into a lengthy discussion.

Fortunately, today if he initiates a perseverative topic, he will often say to me, “I need to get unstuck.” Yes, we have come a very long way in a fairly short period of time. Because of our experiences with being “stuck,” I was really interested to read the blog post by Judy Endow on “Autism and Stuck Emotions.”

Judy does a wonderful job of describing how children and adults with autism have, at times, challenges with being stuck on not only a single thought, but also emotions, feelings and thinking in general. She stresses “that autistic neurological stuckness is not something I decide to be,” and that people not grasping this important concept can result in multiple misunderstandings and complications.

I have an entirely different perspective on Ryan getting “stuck” since I’ve read this article. For those parents, caregivers and educators facing similar challenges, I really encourage you to take a moment to read this blog post – this is a perspective that we don’t often hear from or read, and is very valuable.

Read Judy Endow’s article here: http://bit.ly/1HRpLcd