SG

Oh my gosh I have so many thoughts but I will distill it to this: you are not alone. I have two kids (3, too young for testing and 7, autistic) and also an autistic husband. I have issues with visual clutter, noise and being touched out.

We didn’t really do playdates with school etc friends until they could be drop off and yes I’m sorry not sorry but I’m always doing the dropping off and not the hosting. For younger than that, we hung out 1:1 with my friend who also had a kid or two.

I taught both how to play with sensory bins and if you really want to do it, I suggest a big bin (we use an under bed rolling one) and items you can touch. So kinetic sand, oobleck, slime, etc. is a no go here. But I can do rice, chickpeas, water etc. Also use the bathtub for wet things!

Both my kids know I take meds for my mental health because we talk about it openly. I also have told them how ABC bothers her, or XYZ bothers her, I also have my own things like that. So when I say I need a break because I’m overwhelmed, they get it. Parents have needs too, and it’s important (to me) that they learn that I’m not just a doormat. I say no to playing certain things and say I’ll watch. They see my doing things and taking classes for things I enjoy. Every body is a person.