Thursday, January 28, 2010

How to explain sex and anatomy to an inquisitve boy with ASD

Being the mother of a boy has its rewards. It also has it's challenges, as I am my son's primary caregiver. As he becomes more inquisitive about his body and its parts, I often wonder...would it be easier if I had a daughter? I mean...I have all the same parts!

"What is the bubble under my pee pee?" Ummm...huh? Joey asked me that question yesterday, referring to his testicles. Thrown off guard, I responded, "that's your balls." "Well it's not balls I play with, like a soccer ball." I wanted to say "give it time" but instead said "that's your testicles, honey." He is a child that likes the word "trachea" instead of "throat" so I thought it was better to get right down to business.

It got me thinking a lot about what it will be like when he hits puberty. I know the changes can be even more difficult for a child with sensory issues and no safety net on what he deems appropriate to say in public. Maybe it's too far off to think about.

Maybe I'll just stick to listening to my son talk about "sometimes it's wiggly and sometimes it doesn't move" and not get ahead of myself.

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