the changing brain

The years of teenage-dom can exhaust any parent.  Raging hormones, plus growing bodies, plus the urge for independence are a complicated mix of emotions, with or without autism.  

Trying to stay a step ahead of your teen is challenging but sometimes I forget to do exactly what I am always harping at Jake about.  I swear I say, "listen the first time" about a zillion times a day.  It actually seems to be getting worse as we approach 14. 

So I decided to listen... really listen to what he's saying.  Conversations about "all my memory pictures are now black" and "no one ever showed me how to do decomposition (math) problems" are chocked full of information. Not just what you're hearing either. 

Here's a glimpse at how Jake explains what his brain feels like lately.  Just listen. 

Brain Changes