Autistic Conversations
I wanted to come up with something clever to call this post...but I just couldn't. Conversations is our house really speak for themselves.
This morning, I was watching the news and, since April is Autism Awareness Month, and I guess everyone's gearing up for it, they were having competing autism stories on all the stations. I was interested in one and was trying to listen, when young FrogBoy joined me in the living room. After reading the caption at the bottom of the TV screen, he promptly asked, "Mommy, what's autism?"
Oh boy. I guess I knew the day would come, I just wasn't prepared. Especially at 8 a.m. I tossed up a quick prayer and started with, "Autism is a neurological disorder..."
Before I could finish my sentence, my precious child said, "Oh, okay."
Clearly he doesn't have an understanding of the term "neurological," nor does he care. He probably recognized the tone in my voice and thought, "Crud, we're going to be here awhile if I don't cut her off fast." Whatever the reason, I was spared the explanation for another day.
A few days ago, though, I had the best conversation with the FrogMan that I can remember.
FrogBoy: "Look, Mommy, this guy lost his arm."
Me: "Oh my. He doesn't have a face either. Have you been chewing on him?"
(This is something he does frequently. It's called - brilliantly - mouthing. In my day, that meant something else entirely - and you got popped if you did it. But I digress.)
FrogBoy: "Yeah. I get hungry."
(I love this kid.)
Me: "Let's not eat him. He's plastic. That's not good."
FrogBoy: "But he tastes good."
Me: "No. You need to not eat plastic. Its bad for you. Throw him away."
FrogBoy: "Can I flush him?"
Me: "No. Put him in the trash."
FrogBoy: "Aw man."
It is this type of wonderful conversation that makes my life so enjoyable. It's the ones we DON'T have that concern me.
3 comments:
Mike is such an awsome kid. I love that boy.
I have an autistic child in my class, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE him!! He keeps us in stitches with his stories and his honesty... He's so sweet and fun!
And so is Frogboy...
BTW- I was reading an article today in People magazine about a family with SIX autistic children...can you imagine how crazy fun it is at their house?? It talked about how hard it was and all the struggles they'd been through. Three were high-functioning; two were severe (no speaking); and one was mild. It was an interesting article.
I actually read that article a few months back. I don't know how they do it. Did you see the pictures of the kids bedrooms? They couldn't put anything on the walls or even sheets on the beds because they would destroy everything - every single day. We are so blessed!
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