Somehow Saturday
Our autism journey
The coolest thing about life is you get to decide how you are going to wake up and start your day. You can be happy, sad, mad, or anything in between. I’ve got a headache, the same one I went to bed with, but I’m going with the flow. I’m happily enjoying the conversation Owen is providing me. He watches a lot of the reviews of children’s apps and he isn’t saying all the words correctly, but the fluid connection between the words and the phrasing he is using tells me he is saying the review word for word in his way. He switches between the review, a song about kittens, and back to the app Peekaboo Barn where he says, “it’s the booboo chicken”. This is a character on the The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but today it’s visiting the Peekaboo Barn. He’s spinning a lot today, doing his stimming motions, and interacting with me. He wants to be back in school. Last night as he was falling asleep he mentioned some of the names of the kids in class. He has never done this with me. It is always amazing to me how he learns words and sounds. His voice mimics the tones and expressions of others. I watch him in wonder and awe singing away; then he reaches up picks his nose, eats his booger and keeps singing. These are the hygiene skills that are hard to explain to any child, but add autism on top of that and no bodily function means anything to owen yet. I try to explain to him you can’t do this and he screams. I try to explain about sneezing or coughing and there is no connection at all. The repetitive action of me covering his mouth with his hand is helping, but it doesn’t mean anything to him. The connections are coming, he is growing, and these things will come when he can process them. The choice when I woke up was to smile. Owen didn’t sleep all night, but when he got into bed with me he hugged me and fell right back asleep. Through this journey I am learning patience and the understanding of the human spirit. Positive actions and positive words equals a positive life. Tell someone you love them today. And make sure you say it to yourself as well. Smiles to all and donut daze!
