u/What_Fresh_Hell_666

I really wish I could find the original essay that put forth these ideas, but I read it probably 20 years ago and have no idea where it originated. The author was frustrated about the constant angst she and her friends dealt with regarding society's ideas about how women should dress at certain ages. So she fought back. Here's her list of what not to wear after age 35:

-- Rose colored glasses (they were cute and appropriate when you were a teenager, but are they really serving you well now?),
-- A chip on your shoulder (these look worse and worse the older you get),
-- The weight of the world (don't let anyone guilt you into putting this one on!),
-- Society's expectations (similar to the weight of the world, but more explicit), and
-- Too many hats (you'll soon be juggling so many that you won't even know who you really are anymore)

Everything else is fair game. Enjoy.

I'm the parent of a young man (early 20s) with autism and mild intellectual disabilities. He works part time and lives with us but has a very high need for social interaction with people his age. During the school year, he participates in programs like Natural Ties and Best Buddies, but they are not nearly enough.

He does not see himself as disabled and refuses to participate in programs that involve mostly disabled people. (Best Buddies and Natural Ties both have a lot of, in his words, "normal" people who volunteer as peer supporters, so he likes those groups.)

We've tried to get him interested in gaming, but with his intellectual disabilities, he doesn't understand role-playing or strategy games, and everyone involved just gets frustrated. No one at the gaming places wants to sit around and play simple board games (believe me, we've taken him to these places).

Any ideas? Volunteer work would be OK if it weren't 99 percent "old people." (If not 100 percent.)