Anonymous wrote:What works well for a dear friend and her ASD son, now in late teens: “Larlo, I need you to stop talking now.” Very polite and direct, they have a good relationship, that’s what he needs to shift gears.

This. Sometimes the most kind and polite thing is to be direct. Rather than giving social cues he doesn't perceive. Just tell him.

Podcast, YouTube, blog. Can be private if you want.

Give him a place to info dump.

Put him on DCUM real estate forum.

What works well for a dear friend and her ASD son, now in late teens: “Larlo, I need you to stop talking now.” Very polite and direct, they have a good relationship, that’s what he needs to shift gears.

Anonymous wrote:This kid needs a podcast. He can info dump to his heart's content on one.

This is an interesting idea

I will often say, “I have about 5 more minutes and then I have something else I need to do,” and then I will also set a timer for 5 minutes. (This is after a long stretch of listening, not right away.)

This kid needs a podcast. He can info dump to his heart's content on one.

My 14 yr old says that’s why he wants to become a science teacher. Bc he can info dump and students will be forced to listen to him. Haha.

“NOT OF GENERAL INTEREST!”

I would consider enrolling him in pragmatics language/social skills therapy so he can learn techniques and strategies and work on exiting conversations, reading social cues, reciprocal conversation, etc. Depending on the extent of impact, this could also be addressed through an IEP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son loves to infodump on me, and I don’t know what to do. He is obsessed with the history of subdivisions and housing types—like which ones are starter homes and which are more high-end. I like it, but sometimes I don’t want to hear about it. I can tell he wants to stop, but once he gets going, it’s hard to stop.

He does not have this problem at school, as he doesn’t talk much and has no friends due to the peer group being iffy. He gets good grades, he’s polite, and he has no other issues—but this stands out to me. What should I do?

When you can tell that he wants to stop, I would ask him about that. Does he want your help in stopping? What can you do to assist him to stop if that what he really wants to do?

Yes he does want my help he says he’s cognizant of the fact he info dumps but it’s like he almost does it subconsciously he apologizes profusely about it lately.

Someone attended my meetup regularly with ASD some years ago. I came up with a serious of hand cues to indicate it was time to let someone else talk and his turn to listen. I think working on identifying social cues will help him in the long run. If he finds friends or people with similar interests, it might be taxing on their relationship. He was 30 and lived at home. I know I had to request his parents that they send someone with him to help him with cues. I couldn't spend my entire existence cuing him.

I wish your son all the best.

We had the same problem and at that age, we were watching The Big Bang Theory together, where the autistic character Sheldon does many spectrum things that annoy his roommates. DS learned A LOT about what not to do (at least, the things in his control) from this how.

TBBT is a story about a group of research scientists, which we were drawn to because my husband and I are research scientists. It starts off as pretty misogynist, so be sure to explain to your kids that some of their behaviors are entirely unacceptable. But in the last seasons (spoiler alert!), the tables are turned, and all the significant others of the group of male roommates end up more successful and well respected by their menfolk. The progression of their behavior is actually what's interesting.

I wouldn't try to get him to stop, but try to have realistic boundaries. It's good life training.

Like, 'hey buddy, today I'm not feeling great, so I have 10 mins to listen, but after that, I need to lay down' or whatever. (i mean whatever is true that day, i'm not suggesting lying)

or "i can listen until grandma calls, I'm waitign to hear how her doctor's appointment went"

Real life stuff.

I would redirect him to something other than talking with you, such as writing down a summary.

I have info that just wants to come out, and when I can find someone who actually needs it, I'm so happy. See if you can find him a setting for this.