My husband had an afternoon out with the kids recently - one diagnosed autistic, one neurotypical - although with the afternoon he had, I think it was difficult to pick which was which!!!

The following is a snippet of the post he wrote on our blog, detailing the events of the afternoon:

"Can we go to the pool Dad... please?..."

How can you say no to that….?

Well, that’s what I thought anyway - This will be easy, a quick trip to the pool to wear them out and then enjoy a peaceful afternoon at home.

I told my wife that we were off to the pool, and she gave me that “are you completely insane?” look, but then proceeded to pack the kids bags in record time and wave ever so sweetly as we drove down the street. Looking back this should have been my first clue……….

We arrive at the Pool, and get a park right out the front (first win to me!). The kids unload themselves, and charge into the building determined to beat each other into the water. I run after them, stopping only to pick up the 3 toddlers, 2 grandmothers, and 1 mother that had rather selfishly got in between my kids and the water!

After apologising to all involved, I make my way over to the attendant to pay the entry fee. I explained that my kids were already on the way to the pool and I needed to pay for them. I pointed them out, just in time for the attendant to witness the 2 of them doing “blowfish’s” on the beautiful clean windows for all to see! He then gave me another one of those “are you completely insane?” looks and passed on my receipt. In hindsight, this should have been clue number 2…….

Continued... (http://managingautism.com/uncategorized/can-we-go-to-the-pool-dad-please)