He Broke Up With His Girlfriend After Finding Out She Had A Son With ASD And Realizing He Didn’t Want To Deal With The Challenges
This man has been in a relationship with a woman named Rachel since September. For most of their time together, things have been going smoothly, and he and Rachel get along great. Since they first started dating, he was aware that Rachel had a son named Cash, 10.
Rachel and her ex shared split custody of Cash. He and Rachel live 50 minutes away from one another, and he’s only been around Cash a handle of times, for several minutes each time. They usually get together when her ex has custody.
Last weekend, he asked Rachel if she and Cash wanted to hang out with him. He suggested seeing a movie, going to the park, and getting ice cream afterward.
In response, Rachel told him Cash couldn’t tolerate movie theatres or other crowded places, which he thought was a little strange, but he didn’t give her comment too much thought.
“When they came over, Cash immediately started running around the apartment and yelling. I thought it was kind of funny, and since I have ADHD, I remember being a hyper kid,” he said.
Rachel was visibly humiliated, walked up to Cash, and quietly requested that he settle down. Instantly, Cash began sobbing and flapping his hands around.
He thought Cash’s behavior was strange and realized something was going on with him. When he questioned Rachel about whether Cash had some sort of disorder, she informed him that Cash had Autism Spectrum Disorder, and he was a little shocked about this.
“She had never mentioned that or the fact that he had any sort of behavioral issues. I asked her why she’s never brought it up, and she said it didn’t seem super relevant, and she is able to parent him just fine,” he explained.
For the entire weekend, Cash had several emotional meltdowns and struggled with meals. On Sunday morning, he walked into the bathroom to find that Cash had made a complete mess of the toilet and sink, which bothered and repulsed him.
Sunshine – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual people
At the time, Rachel was still sleeping, but he woke her up and asked her to clean up the mess. After breakfast, he pretended he was ill so that Rachel and Cash would leave. Later that day, Rachel texted him that she and Cash had a fantastic weekend.
“I told her I didn’t think we’d be a good fit moving forward because I couldn’t see myself helping raise Cash. She called me immediately and started crying, saying how horrible I was being,” he shared.
According to Rachel, his reaction toward Cash’s behavior was why she hadn’t allowed him to spend more time with Cash earlier in their relationship. He responded that he was sorry but doubled down on his choice to break up.
Over the last several days, he felt guilty about dumping Rachel, but he didn’t answer her numerous calls.
He wondered if the reason he ended the relationship was wrong, yet at the same time, he didn’t believe he should feel obligated to help care for a child with ASD.
Do you think he did the right thing?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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