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Graduation, the "real world" and ASD


Hi all, and welcome back to Under the Umbrella! It’s been a while since I had the chance to sit down and write, but I’ve been having a lot of conversations with my younger brother Luke about how life will change when he graduates high school.


It’s a unique time for my family: I graduate college in December, while Luke graduates from high school in May. My parents are looking forward to being empty nesters, but my brother is even more excited than they are to go out on his own. Now, I know my parents are nervous. Whose parents aren’t? But because of Luke’s autism, there are generally some more concerns. 


One of the things with autism is that Luke thinks everything should have a cut and dry solution. Either something works or it doesn’t, people are good or bad (not both) and these thoughts are all ingrained in his mind. What Luke doesn’t realize, though, is that the “real world” (i.e. life outside the farm) doesn’t always work like that.


Life is messy, and it’s hard enough for my neurotypical brain to wrap myself around that.

I can’t imagine what it will be like when Luke goes out on his own, but what he should know is that he will always have a support system behind him. Myself, my parents, his friends and family will all be there for him if he ever needs it.


To Luke: I love you bud. And you can always crash on my couch if you need to.  

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