"I feel better"

You just can't imagine how the simple words can change your world. Most clinicians agree that Autistic children don't have the insight or ability to connect a voice with their emotions to enable any communication where feelings are concerned. So when my 15 year-old said, "I feel better" the other day hearing those words was like a dam had broken. Instead of the disastrous flood that was expected, I imagined a parched earth finally inundated with cool, clear water. Growth might finally be possible where it hadn't been before.

"I feel better" was how he described dealing with the stress of having to start high school, moving to a new environment and forgoing the independence and surety of his bike for the unreliable means of a school district bus. After months of pre-transitional stress and weeks of learning new routines, new faces, new issues  - new everything - he 'feels better.'
He's growing up. He's learning to deal with his environment. He understands that he can use the way he feels to discover areas he's uncomfortable with and then resolve to change and manage what he can. As well, he's realized that this applies to relationships as well. He plays with the idea of how his actions affect how others react to him.
For a high school boy - could you really ask any more? Some grown-ups don't even make it this far.