What happens when the "Cute" wears off?

The other day we were in line at the store. Nathan got to pick out candy and he was so excited. He put his candy on the counter and watched as I was checking out.

He was jumping up and down and flapping his arms like he does when he is super excited.

Nathan has always "flapped" out of excitement. He will jump and flap, he will lay on the ground and flap. It's a form of stimulation for him and very common in autism.

There were some older gentlemen behind us in line and they were commenting about how excited Nathan was for his candy, in a very kind way.

It's very cute to watch him. His joy radiates when he gets super excited about something. It really is the cutest thing to see.

But as I was driving home from the store, I got to thinking about Nathan's future.

He's getting older. At 5 years old jumping up and down and flapping your hands is cute. But I know that it won't be considered "cute" when he's bigger, older.

What happens when the "cute" wears off?

I know that if he is 10 years old, 13 years old, an adult he may still be using this behavior to show excitement.

And let's face it the world can be cruel. He will get stared at, he will get laughed at, he will get mocked.

I worry for him as he gets older.

When we initially got his Autism diagnosis, my mind instantly went to "I don't ever want my little boy to be teased." I don't ever want him to have a harder life than this world could already throw at him.

I always wanted what every parent wants, to give my children the world. I want their life to be as easy as I can help make it and here is an added hardship to my baby boy.

So what happens when the "cute" wears off?

I can't do much about how people will react to Nathan as he gets older. I can only continue to advocate for him, to teach people about Autism, to help people to learn to be kind.

Nathan will always have quirks, maybe he will continue to flap, but we will embrace and love him and show him that different is beautiful, never less.

In my eyes, Nathan's "cute" will never wear off, Nathan will always be cute!!!

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