Maturing with Aspergers

Chaz (right) and his friend Dexter

It has been really, really tough with Chaz lately.  Things have changed as he's gotten older.  When he was younger, it was physically harder to help him but now the problems seem to be more mental.  He's had a lot more meltdowns and I'm starting to really, really see the gap between him and kids his age.  When he was little, other kids were immature also so it wasn't as noticeable. Now, kids at 11 or 12 or starting to mature in how they act and Chaz just isn't there yet.  He still wants to be physical, push, shove, bump into them, laugh a lot, poke, pinch.  It makes me sad to watch kids walk away from him or try to understand but not know what he is saying. Tomorrow he will get an evaluation with a speech specialist and I'm anxious to see where he is at.  It's been really hard to understand him as he tends to talk fast and in run on sentences.  Sigh.  I only want the best for Chaz and I hate to see him struggle just to make ONE FRIEND.  I hate to see him get rejected over and over.  I love him so much.  He's my boy and I'm so proud of him no matter what.  He is a really good kid it's just that he doesn't understand socially how to act around other kids and doesn't understand boundaries.  We invited Chaz's friend over for two days that has Aspergers.  Chaz was in heaven having his friend around because they completely understand each other. Unfortunately they live an hour and a half away from each other and can only visit once every few months.