Autism Parenting While Eating Out

     As a parent with children on the Autism spectrum, I've been both commended and scolded for how my children behave at restaurants. I'm so thankful my identity is not tied to the varying and variable opinions of others. Impatience by a waiter over a child who (again) needs more time to decide. Strange looks for allowing an older child to sit under the booth to escape the noise. Compassion for a child who believes is independent enough to find the washroom, but needs and receives redirection away from the doors to the kitchen. Congratulations from a table nearby for the excellent manners of my son who adds "thank you" to almost every verbal exchange with strangers.
    Eating out as a family is an adventure with a highly variable cost/benefit analysis.



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