Black and White Thinking

One of the biggest daily battles my husband and I have with our autistic son is the fact that he's a black and white thinker. We have to constantly readjust what we say and what we do and make sure that it's something that can stay consistent so that we don't confuse our son. One struggle recently has been the changing weather. Last week it was very rainy and windy most of the week. My son loves to go outside and play on our patio, and he will stay out there most of the day if we let him. It's covered and has solid walls surrounding it. So, it's safe place for him to play, even if he insists on playing out there in the middle of a rain storm. He was home sick last week and decided to dress himself with yesterday's attire: a short sleeved shirt and shorts. He then wanted to go outside and play on the patio. He resisted my telling him he must change into warmer clothing if he wanted to go outside and play. I told him it was too cold outside to wear shorts and a shirt. Pants and a coat are needed to be worn when it's so cold outside. Each time I'd explain, he'd respond with getting upset and fussing. I held firm and finally he caved. He put on some warm pants and a coat. However, today the weather is gorgeous and it's too hot to wear a coat outside. However, my son insists on wearing his winter coat out on the patio because now he thinks that's a set standard of what he should wear if he's out there.

One morning it was very chilly. It was almost cold enough for there to be frost on the ground, but not quite. I could see my breath when I exhaled and the grass and ground were damp outside, but no frost. I had my son put on his winter coat before I walked him to the bus stop. However, when he returned from school in the afternoon, I found that even though the weather had warmed up significantly (just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) he still had his winter coat on. The bus driver felt bad and tried to explain that he would not take it off. I understood of course, and put her mind at ease. However, once Keegan got off the bus, it took me 15 minutes of sitting out on the sidewalk, convincing him that we could not start walking until he took his coat off. I kept telling him it's too hot to wear a coat outside and that it needed to come off and be put into his backpack. He was convinced that since he walked TO the bus with his coat on, that he should walk FROM the bus with his coat on. We had about 1/4 mile to walk back to our apartment, and it was not feasible for him to wear his coat in that type of heat. I had to stand firm, and he finally caved. I am convinced that I will need to write some social stories for him to explain weather changes and the different types of clothing that is needed for each circumstance. I hope they work. I found out about social stories for the first time last week. They are such a great idea! I am eager to give them a try and see if they work. My current struggle is the fact that I do not draw very well at all. LOL So these stories will have very basic pictures, but hopefully they will get the message across. (= Thanks for reading.
Take care and God bless~