To Stim or Not To Stim

Yesterday morning Brian seemed not only so "off" but also kind of sad so I thought a trip to our favorite toy store, Planet Toys, was needed. One of the reasons this toy store ROCKS is that we can go there and not buy anything- they have so many toys on display that kids are ENCOURAGED to play with. They even have a small jungle gym and slide in there now. Some of the employees know us by name.

Yesterday there was a lady there that I haven't met before. She honed right in on Brian, as he stood and watched this one toy, the Penguin Race. Of course he wasn't just standing and watching it. He was flapping, jumping, and squealing watching it out of his peripheral vision.

She smiled and asked me, "Is he verbal yet?" Woah. I think that may have been the most forward anyone has been to me, ever, regarding his autism. He was obviously portraying VERY autistic traits at this moment so it wasn't surprising to me that anyone familiar with autism wouldn't think that, but it still took me back a bit.

It turns out she use to work with kids on the spectrum. We laughed at how this toy must have been made for kids with autism. I was talking to her about how I always struggle during this gift-giving season on whether I should get toys he can stim on or not.

On Christmas morning I want Brian to rival his brother's enthusiasm for his new Harry Potter legos. And the only way I'll get that level of excitement out of Brian is by stimmy toys. He would be so excited to have a pile of presents that spin, blink, and have repetitive motions. But then I'd only be setting us up for more disappointment as I would have to put them up just to get him to interact with his family.

So far in my closet I have a fiber-optic lamp for him and these awesome stacking tops that do a really cool light design. So I guess that's my answer. I'll deal with the frustration later on just so I can see the smiles I want to see on Christmas morning.

I'm pretty sure that Penguin race will be joining the present pile.