Autism and Birthdays
Autism and birthdays can be a stressful mix for parents. However, it can also be stressful for children as they might not want surprises and keep to the routine as much as possible. As an adult with autism (it feels so strange saying that I am now an adult since I don’t feel like one), I will share with you the experience I had on my eighteenth birthday.
My birthday is celebrated twice, once with my Mum and once with my Dad. I always spend my birthday with Mum, but I always celebrate with my Dad either the weekend before or after my birthday.
The morning on my birthday, I woke up feeling excited. It is not every day that you turn eighteen, so I decided to enjoy it as much as possible. Due to waking up early, I was able to spend time with Mum and my brother before my morning routine continued.
Before going to school, Mum allowed me to open some presents. I received many gifts that I appreciate, and I am thankful for that. My brother gave me a Doctor Who themed keychain that is on my school bag. That day, I would enter Year 13 for the first time. At first, I was a little bit worried about what my timetable would be like for the year. However, my timetable is almost the same as it was last year except for one lesson, which helped me settle in better.
After school, I opened the rest of my presents, including the new Sylvanian Families nursery. A friend of Mum’s visited, and we had cake together. That evening, I was able to watch my favourite Sarah Jane Adventures episode, the perfect end to a fun day.
A few weeks before, I saw Dad to discuss plans for my birthday. We agreed to stay local and visit the Conservation Park. However, Dad emailed to say that there was a change of plans. I wasn’t happy with this as he organised a surprise and changed where we were going. It took over a week before he agreed to go back to the original plan, but I felt stressed as I didn’t know what was going to happen.
At the Birmingham Conservation Park, where I took pictures of some cute otters.
After lunch, Dad allowed me to open my presents. Dad and his girlfriend gave me a massive dreamcatcher (which is currently in storage as it is too big to fit in my room). They also gave me a DVD I wanted for some time and four books.
Autism and Birthdays: Conclusion
I enjoyed my eighteenth birthday, but as I said, I don’t feel like I am an adult. At the moment, I feel like I’m a teenager.
If you want to read about my birthday celebrations in Cardiff.