Respecting his privacy

I realised something this week after a conversation with my 14 year old Autistic son.

I realised he is growing up. It sounds obvious, I know. But I don't mean he is getting taller, or more competent or wiser. I mean he is wanting to start to understand and navigate some of the more complex issues in relationships.

Then I realised something else.

We are entering a period of his life in which a lot of the significant things I will probably want to write about him will actually be private.

And I will need to honour that.

This seems a shame to me, in that the sharing of these sort of things with you all would likely be helpful for many. Lets face it, navigating the teen years is a time when parents value the support of other parents. Possibly even more so when we are navigating them with children who struggle to interpret social situations at the best of time, let alone with raging hormones while the situations are all new and the rules constantly change.

However, while I'd love to be able to engage in those sort of conversations with you, this falls squarely in the category of things I would not want my kids to see in future years that I had published about them. Especially since there are quite a few of you reading this blog who know my family personally.

So, you might notice me talking a bit less about my boy over the next while. At the very least there will be gaps in what I will be willing to say.

Because I love him.

Because he has a right to do this growing up without the world watching.

Because I respect his privacy.