Obsessions and phobias with autism

Obsessions, we all have them in one fashion or another! Some of us more than others. Many times they don't compare to an obsession that someone with autism has! They get fixated on specific items, and they have a very difficult time breaking away from it. This is different than what their gift is... but sometimes they do seem to intermingle a bit.

For our son, his obsessions are several things. Remember he is almost 18, but his mind is not that of 18. He loves pokemon cards. It is fascinating to me as the creator of these also has Asperger's Syndrome. He also loves match box cars and must have over 600 of them or so. He also loves to play video games. This is also one of his talents however. He can master a game within days of buying the new game. He really likes transformers and also bionicles from Legos? He likes magnetic links that link together also.

As for phobias. He is REALLY afraid of the dark. He hates the dark. Even when he was running away, he would tell his sister that he would stay in very well lit areas. He always has been afraid. He also is fearful of needles. I am also, but not to the extent that Taylor is. I remember when he was like four, we went to get a shot. I would always have to hold him in my lap as he would get the shot to try to calm him down. With that in mind, the doctor had taken him off of my lap to go pick out a band aid. They had spiderman, and different animations. The doctor thought this was a good idea to get him mind off of things. As the doctor went to the cupboard to get the band aid of choice, we were chatting, and Taylor opened the door and was running out the building. Very scary at the time as the office was on a busy street, but, as years pass, we still get a lot of chuckles from that one.

Taylor loves the pool or anywhere that he is able to swim. He can be in there for hours and not even have a thought to get out. It is very amusing! He isn't really too strong of a swimmer, but he can hold his own. I can honestly say, when he is in water, he is happy. It has always been that way. Now, taking a shower is another story. We have to constantly remind him to shower. It isn't that he doesn't want to really, just that he gets side tracked and we have to keep telling him. Once he is in there, he won't get out. He loves water, once again.

Autism tip of the day: Often times kids that have Aspergers really don't think about how others will view them. With that in mind, they might want to wear the same clothes day in and day out, no matter how many clothes you buy them. Their hair is often unkept and many times their clothes can be wrinkly or not really match well, or not match the elements. It isn't really that they don't care what others might think, it just really never crosses their mind.