1) It is very difficult to know where their abilities end and their limitations begin until they have been asked to do something that is beyond their abilities - meltdowns/frustration/despair are usually the indicators of this line.
2) This invisible line can move on a daily/hourly basis, depending on environmental factors, sensory issues, change in schedule, what they ate, how they slept, the change in weather, etc. Something that was a snap one day can be overwhelming the next day, and you may never know why. And neither will they.
A couple of years ago, my dear friend Kathy and I decided that living with autism is a lot like Calvinball - no matter how hard you try to keep up, the rules are constantly changing.
For a while, on really hard days Kathy and I would message each other a one-word message: "Calvinball." The other would immediately know what that meant.
I love teaching my children, and I love that we can homeschool to more easily incorporate sensory diet, gross/fine motor therapies, much needed breaks in between seemingly simple tasks, and to constantly adapt to the rhythms of our children's abilities that day... but it's hard sometimes. Good, hard work. That I wouldn't trade for anything. Work that reminds me almost constantly of my desperate need for God to equip, encourage, and enable me to do this work to the the best of my own very limited abilities.
AND HE DOES. He does. I'm so thankful.
"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." - Hebrews 13:20-21
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:16-17
I hope to be as cool as Rosalyn one day.
