the kid upstairs is going to go through the floor.

she's autistic. which seems to mean she doesn't have a clear understanding of herself in a spatial context. she's also a little overweight. but, the issue (regardless of weight) is not understanding how to walk without stomping.

she's not just creaking the floor. she's breaking wood planks. you can hear them snap as she stomps around. and i mean STOMP around.

see, as annoying as it's going to be for me to deal with a hole in the ceiling, i'm kind of more concerned that she's going to hurt herself and i don't really know how to bring that up. i'm going to guess that actually reversing the stomping is going to require some careful and patient coaching, that it's going to be frustrating for everybody and that it might actually be impossible to change habitually, in the long term.

i wouldn't even be thinking about this if it were just the sound. i'd just be 'whatever. let the kid stomp.'. but, it really is predictable that she's going to stomp right through a wood plank at some point. so, i kind of feel obligated to point it out.

it's just....how do you do this....

i'm not concerned about offense. no, really, i'm not. i don't care about that. it's more that if i'm going to bother taking the time to offend them, i want to make sure that they actually listen rather than just get offended and then not do anything. see, and i know that humans aren't particularly intelligent creatures - i know that they tend to irrationally react to certain things on an emotional level, ignore anything approaching a rigourous analysis and then consciously decide to *not* follow through with a logical reaction, apparently purely out of spite for reason.

i have to say something to somebody. suggestions?

mom 
Bring it to the attention of your landlord...

jessica amber murray 
yeah, see, the landlord is the tenant's brother, and the stomper's uncle. the brother seems to be a little challenged as well, but not as much.

it might be the best option, i agree. but i'm no closer to a tactic.

"your niece is going to stomp through the floor" is blunt. i like blunt. but i don't want to piss him off too badly, unless i'm sure he's going to listen (at which point, the piss off will necessarily be temporary - logic will prevail).

i should also point out that he owns this place, specifically, so that his mentally challenged brother and niece have an affordable place to stay. so, if i bring it up, it has to be with the sole intent of therapy.

mom 
Just explain to him the way you explained it on here....

jessica amber murray 
i think what i need is less an angle and more the right context. just bringing it up at the right time kind of thing.