Originally Posted by eco21268
--just because a person doesn't see herself in a helping profession, doesn't mean they don't have empathy. My DS has said he wouldn't want to be a doctor or pilot or anything where "other people's lives depend on you" because of the pressure.
A LOT of non-autistic people would not want a career that was focused on interacting with other people.

--as for "waving the 504 flag:" it's probably a good idea to document these things, in case you need the documentation later to advocate. Especially since it sounds like these are occasional issues and not pervasive, it might help you establish some sort of pattern.

--as an observation: the child you describe doesn't exactly sound "unemotional." smile More like an unusual profile, with some trouble managing emotions at times. She also sounds like a fairly typical, driven, anxious, gifted young adolescent. It's hard to know what's causing what, isn't it?

I have so many thoughts going on in my head about all this, but a few items I can remark upon - empathy. She's always fallen short on this one. The therapist picked up on it right away. DD this weekend stated that she didn't want to work with anyone because she didn't like people. That hit me hard. I asked if there were any that she liked? "Maybe".

As for the 504 business - I started a file so I can keep track. Thank you for the idea.

Unusual profile? To me, absolutely. I can figure out my DD12. Even at my DD12's most explosive crazy or sad times, I can understand what is going on. DD11 is a mystery to me. She asked me to have a private moment (shut ourselves in the bathroom). She demanded to know "Why do you want to know my personal business?????!!!!" I explained that people who care about each other talk and share. She seems to be baffled by the idea of sharing what goes on in her head. Often when I ask her questions, I get the "I don't know." answer. Anyway, I told her that no matter what she does, where she goes, I will always love her. Interestingly she crawled into my lap during prayer time a few minutes after our "private time".