A reader got in touch recently to ask about The Boy and his absence from This West London Life. There hasn’t been any deliberate plan to drop appearances by The Boy, it’s happened organically.
The Boy is almost 15 years old and autism colliding with puberty has not been easy for him (or his parents). Throw in the impact of Covid-19 and The Boy has faced a tough couple of years. So tough that we sought help from the professionals.
The Boy no longer wants to see his life shared across the Internet and I accept that. He has, however, agreed that he can be the subject of a post or two around his birthday, Christmas, scrapbooking or when he says something funny. (These limits now also apply to what I’m allowed to share on Instagram.)
Let’s hope he says something funny a lot. 🙂
This West London Life 
Totally understandable from his point of view.
The teenage years are not easy for the young people and most certainly not for the parents. Throw autism and COVID into the mix and the difficulties accelerate.
On reflection, I do remember some happy times with my girl as a teenager.
She seemed much more keen to talk to me if we were driving, she would chat away and open up a lot more.
Teenage years make the toddler years seem easy!
Wishing you all well and happy days.
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Haha, I might need to get back behind the wheel …
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There’s always the discussion/debate about how much to share of someone else’s life on any social media platform; you have always made such respectful decisions of how much to share. As you say Autism, puberty & COVID make for a rather difficult time – well done parents for not only recognizing the struggles (both sides) but doing something about it … many hope it just goes away as a phase. If history is anything to go on, there’s no danger of TB not saying something funny, often & soon. 🙂
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I hope so as well, because some of his utterings are just too good not to share!
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It’s only fair to respect his wishes regarding how much you share on social media, and he is of an age now where he will obviously want to keep his privacy. Gosh, it must be hard to cope with the cocktail of autism and the hormonal issues that puberty brings – for all of you.
I feel sure that he will keep providing you with amusing anecdotes for some time!
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I’m not going to lie, the last few months have been difficult.
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I think it’s a great compromise. He’s agreed to some things & not others. It’s definitely a sign of growing up & all the changes associated with it, coupled with autism and the pandemic and difficulties these last few years certainly make it tough all around. Prayers for y’all & thankful to see any glimpses he chooses to share, especially the funny things that brighten our days around the world.
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He has something coming later this week – stay tuned!
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