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The idea of development as a continuously increasing line is as ridiculous as the idea of the stock-market as a line always going up. Kids can go up and down at different times and in different amounts, and end up in a similar place.
Regression won’t ruin a child’s life forever, but may signal that the child might need less stress or extra help right now.
There isn’t one single right way to develop.
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When you are neurotypical, people call the things you love ‘obsessions’ and they think it’s cute. When you are Autistic, people medicalize your passions and call them ‘special interests’. And when you talk about your special interests, you are ‘infodumping’. I know plenty of neurotypical people who do this, who infodump about their favorite character on TV and why they love them. But somehow, it’s a problem when I do it. When I infodump, it’s a ‘symptom’ of my autism, not just me sharing something I love. […]
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I want you to know that your daughter has real, innate strengths and not just splinter skills or savant skills, as many people assume are the only kinds of talents that {disabled} people might have.
Partial quote, Emily Paige Ballou
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[…] Everybody has strengths and weaknesses; everybody fails to generalize many of the skills that they have.
Autism: Explorations 