The Son has autism. He is now 19 years old. As part of preparing him for more “adult” responsibilities (before I knew I was moving to Colorado), I opened a joint checking account with him at my local bank in Arkansas. I taught him how to deposit cash, use a Debit Card at stores, withdraw money from the ATM, and keep up with a checkbook register. Then, we got the banking app on his phone. Eventually, I had his SSID moneys directly deposited to his account instead of mine.

When I moved, we would video chat every week and I would show him how to use a budget in a spreadsheet app on his PC. I got him set up with his own Amazon Prime account and how to add that and any other expenses into his budget. Given he only had that, his phone, and paying his father a small amount of rent (to help out and learn), it wasn’t a difficult task.

We eventually did away with the checkbook register. The calls reduced to once a month when it was time to pay his portion of his cell phone bill to me, which I also had to teach him how to do by sending money from his account to mine through the bank’s app.

Every month, I have to call the bank and have them unlock the account, because he struggles with typing the password in, does that 3 times, and gets locked out. I’ve only just figured out (today, bc hello to the 1st again) that it is the security feature that changes the visual password to *****’s that is the problem. If he can’t see what he is typing, he can’t tell if he is typing it correctly – and that is a totally understandable issue.

Solution? Type the password elsewhere so he can see it, then cut/paste it into the bank app. Once the bank opens, I will do the unlock thing and have him practice it that way, to see if that works out better.

Since I’m going to visit Arkansas later this month, specifically to see him, Granny Sidhé, and meet my fren GenGen for the first time – I plan to help The Son get set up with fingerprint unlocking and apply that to the banking app. Not sure how that will go, but maybe it will help?!

I write about this because people with Special Needs struggle to accomplish what “neurotypicals” take for granted every single day, and it sucks. The world is harsh and unforgiving. I am neuro-spicy and struggle with some things, but not nearly to the extent that others, such as The Son, do. I wish society would care more about this and accommodate, rather than force everyone to conform to what they consider “normal.” And this applies across the board for ALL types of Special Needs.

Hell, when I had to start using wheely carts to go about a simple thing like grocery shopping… I figured out real quick just how rude and inconsiderate the majority of people can be. Then again, I did live in Arkansas. It’s not nearly as bad here in Colorado.

All the same… the struggle is very real and it makes me disappointed in humanity. I worry so much for The Son. 😔