Teen Talk
by Elisa Gagnon
(Feb. 02)

Jeff is a young adult with high functioning autism. As a teen, he had many daily concerns and was kind enough to share them with me. I felt that I gained great insight into the life of Jeff when I realized the number of things that bothered him. Once the concerns were verbalized, addressing each of his concerns became more manageable. Today, Jeff works part time at Babys-R-Us and enjoys movies, conversations and eating lunch with friends.

Jeff's Concerns
by Jeff Young
I want to know what time it is every minute.
My brain will get in my parent's stuff.
I'm afraid I will get Windex in my eyes if I clean my glasses.
I'm afraid about taking care of my radio or my watch.
I'm afraid I will get hurt if I have a cast.
I'm afraid to take care of my glasses.
I'm upset that my sister can drive a car and I can't.
I'm afraid I will hit my dad if he tries to teach me about a lawn mower.
I'm afraid I will lose my glasses on vacation.
I'm afraid about repeating.
How will my glasses and watch stay on me?
I'm afraid I won't know how to behave when I am 30.