Autism Parenting Tips: Watching My Kid Move Through Emotions

Today felt like one of those days where emotions were… a lot. It sounded like my kiddo had an interesting day at school. And when I say “interesting,” I mean the kind where you’re not just managing your own emotions, but also absorbing everyone else’s. Which, if you picture a room full of teenagers, you can probably imagine how complicated that gets. By the time I picked him up, he seemed okay at first. Quiet, but fine. And then, as we were driving home, I heard him start to cry. Just a little. Not a full breakdown. Just enough to let something out. I said, “Okay buddy,” and gave him space. And then… that emotion passed. Not long after, we were talking about dinner. I told him I’d order pizza. And now he’s in his room, laughing to himself like nothing heavy ever happened. Watching that made me realize something. He has a skill I’m still learning. He felt the emotion. He expressed it. And then he moved on. No spiraling. No replaying it over and over. No asking, “Why am I like this?” He just went, “Okay, that feeling happened. What’s next?” I wish I were that efficient with my emotions. So I’m keeping an eye on him tonight, but I’m also taking notes. Because being able to move from sad to okay to happy again without getting stuck feels like a skill worth learning, at any age. How do you move through big emotions when they show up? Or are you, like me, still figuring that part out?