Autism

My youngest son is on the spectrum.  He is 12 years old now and we have had our challenges.  I have found that Autism affects every aspect of life.  “They” refer to the social challenges when discussing Autism.  “They” being popular social opinion.  Really, anyone that has an opinion.  And you know what they say about opinions.......lol!  The biggest worry I have is if my son will be able to adapt to life enough to have a meaningful life.  I want him to have friends, fall in love, start a family, and have a career.  All of these things are on my mind when I think about the future for him.  My husband says that I worry too much, and I think he doesn’t worry enough.  Things we focus on now are how the body changes as we grow and what to do if our schedule is changed.  How we cope is to make sure we talk in the morning about what is planned and that it is ok to not be perfect at everything.  Recently, he tried out for honor chorus.  He did not do well, and his first instinct was to demean himself.  He said that he is stupid and sounded terrible.  This hurt my mama heart!   I would like him to have a healthier outlook about himself and what it means to fail.  However, he is a comedian so this could be his attempt at humor to play off his anxiety.  I want to think he will be just fine, but I still worry!