Not a whole lot to report around here. We have one tired kid who’s falling asleep in his lunch because he can’t catch up on his sleep (usual story with all of us “Autism Parents”). I’m still demanding that he puts an “I want” in front of the nouns he grunts at me when he wants something (Grandma thinks that we are torturing him when we do this – she doesn’t understand the importance of FUNCTIONALITY IN NORMAL SOCIETY).
Oh, and on a recent trip down to North Carolina to visit my parents in Hippyville, we got the chance to have lunch with an 18 year old man-boy who is also autistic. And ya know what? Other than some occasional quirky head movements and a deep concentration on eating his food, he was the model of “different but functional” that we hope to mold our son into. We heard comforting facts from his mom, that her son didn’t acknowledge his colors until he was seven, and didn’t speak in complete sentences until he was 5. (On his way to community college in two months, this kid was now sitting at the table with all of us helpfully and obediently answering questions about what he could remember about being young and autistic – not much.)
But the thing that I cling to most now is the fact that this kid once obsessed over animals and lining objects up in rows, and now has no recollection of that period in his life or hobby. Perhaps this kid’s animals and lines are my son’s cords/strings/long skinny things! Maybe we’ll be able to comfort some other desperate parents one day and tell them that our son once had this silly obsession, and isn’t that funny – ha ha ha – but now look at him! You have NOTHING to worry about!
Anyhow, not feeling too bad today, so I’m just going to post some pics of my son that don’t suck. : )
