My 10yo son, Jason, has high functioning Autism. This means that he appears to be a regular kid at first glance. But he has some odd habits, way of thinking and plays differently to other kids.
He is overly affectionate with me in particular, and he likes to hold hands when we are walking down the street. He likes to hug & kiss me all the time and lounge all over me.
It's never bothered me before. In fact i've enjoyed our closeness. But Jason is a big boy.He looks more like he's 12-13, and i'm becoming aware that his over affection may look a bit too odd to people around us. Like who holds hands with their 12-13yo son while walking down the street?
Other kids are starting to snicker and i'm starting to feel awkward and maybe even....embarrassed. I hate to say that. I'm not embarrassed about Jason, just how some of this stuff looks. And i don't get that because i'm not one to care about what other people think, as long as i know i'm doing the right thing. Maybe i'm embarrassed because i should have been helping him to tone it down before now, To avoid [extra] social issues with other kids. So maybe i feel that's a reflection of my [bad] parenting.
I don't know. But i feel horrible about feeling socially awkward when my own son just wants to show me affection. Hopefully it will pass :(