6 Ways My Son Is Like Sheldon From The Big Bang Theory

I've seen a lot of Autism Parents do a post like this so I have no idea who to credit. But I just wanted to mention that I did NOT come up with this on my own. Thank you to all the people who wrote a post similar to this because it gave me inspiration! (If interested, I also wrote about what living with someone with autism taught me here.)

My son Tommy has Aspergers. He is a lot like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.

Source

1. I've had to remind him from the time he was tiny that it's polite to ask people how they are doing. Otherwise he'd either just stand there and stare, or leap into a subject he's interested in. For instance, if he met you, he'd either stare or launch into how cool he thinks cumulus clouds are. But then he'd remember, oh right, social skills, even though social skills irk him.

2. He takes things literally. So if you say, "Give me a minute," he expects that it'll take no more than 60 seconds. Otherwise he's all, "This is more than a minute." If I say, "I'm having a ball!" he'll say, "I don't see a ball anywhere."

Source

3. He prefers to be online rather than have to interact with people. Online he doesn't have to worry about social skills and if he's making proper eye contact or if he's freaking someone out by rambling on about tornados and how many people a tornado killed when it hit Oklahoma. 

4. He's obsessed with building online followers.He has a YouTube account and gets excited when he sees another follower. He wants people to like him and he knows that's more likely to happen online because he's socially awkward in real life.

5. He's blunt. If he's not interested, he'll either tell you or look extremely bored. Or he'll cut in and start talking about a subject he enjoys. He's gotten better about this, but sometimes I still have to remind him to listen to others and not say, "I just don't care about that." 

6. He doesn't like change. He's better at handling it now, but when he was little, the slightest change in his classroom would throw him off. His teachers would tell me it was like he'd scan the room the second he entered, and if something were different, he'd obsess about it. If I get something new for the house, he notices right away. If I make dinner but use different ingredients, he knows and he's not pleased.

And yes, Tommy likes Sheldon. Sheldon cracks him up.

And like Sheldon, Tommy is awesome.