Cooperative Play

Today at the beach I watched Corbin and Brian work together to build a long trench towards the lake so they could dump water and watch it go down it. This is something they started last summer and did on almost every single beach trip. Today was the first time it really had a profound effect on me.





Generally the boys don't ever play together. Sure, they almost always insist on being in the same room playing- but Brian is usually lining up his trains and Corbin is playing Bakugans. They don't talk to each other while playing and they don't have a common goal in mind. It's basic parallel play that is normal of toddlers. At the beach though, they had a common goal they were both working towards. Sometimes Corbin would give directions and Brian would follow them. They were laughing together and having so much fun. Everything else on the beach went into slow-motion as it sunk in what I was seeing. I, then, gushed to Josh about how what we were witnessing was so important. It was a much higher-cognitive level of play- cooperative play. He has it in there, it's just finding those keys to unlock it.

Handwriting

Brian's handwriting seems to be really gaining strength just this past few weeks. Sometimes it's the little things, like seeing the teacher's note- "Wow! Good work."- that can make your entire day, or week. Lately, I've needed to remind myself to just enjoy the accomplishments, even the little ones, so that's what I'm doing :)

What Would You Do?

Have you ever watched that show on ABC that puts people into situations where they should usually intervene but so many people don't? It's called "What Would You Do?". Last night was the first time I had actually watched it, though I had heard of it many times.

The scenario I watched was of a young man with Downs Syndrome being verbally abused by his customers. Both the bagger and the abusers were actors, but the other people in line waiting to check out were not.

Following that scenario was one of a same-sex couple bringing their children out to dinner while a rude, close-minded waiter refused them service (all actors again). What would the other diners do?

More often than not, in both situations, people don't say anything. They might show disgust on their face, they may duck their heads as if they don't hear what's going on, and in the worst case scenario they actually agree with the actors. It made me angry. But that's not what I'm writing about.

What I'm writing about is the people who did say something. The ones who could see what was going on and may think it didn't affect them personally but they could see that it affected them globally. One of the men who stuck up for the same-sex marriage said his parents were survivors of the Holocaust. He said that maybe if people didn't just turn the other direction, so many, many deaths wouldn't have happened during that horrible time. A young adult male that stuck up for the man with Downs Syndrome had a sister with the same genetic disorder. He wasn't even in line to check out but he heard the abuse way down the corridor and came running to protect the young man.

Society needs to look at situations like this at how in the long run it affects everyone. We need to stop being selfish and think if someone is not disrespecting us then it's not our business. It is our business to educate such discrimination and hatred. We need a society of humanity, love, peace, and acceptance. Half the problems in the world could be solved by people becoming more tolerant, respectful, and open-minded.

The Manic Night Episodes

I'm sure I've mentioned these before. I've probably done the joke of how I haven't slept in seven years. Brian has a problem with night waking. He doesn't leave his bedroom or even his bed- well recently, on a few nights, I've found him in the bathroom letting the water run in the sink. But his usual routine is to stay in bed and just be manic- I really don't know how else to explain it. He is always, 100% of the time, in an extremely happy mood when he wakes. He kicks, bounces his body, makes lots of noises and will do this non-stop for HOURS. We use melatonin and it helps him fall asleep and sometimes we'll get on a roll where I do think it's helping him stay asleep but then he just starts waking again. I, have honestly, laid on top of him, giving him my complete body weight to try to calm him. He has a weighted blanket but he just does the thing where he kicks it around. I taped him tonight, he's in my bed, and this is not the most extreme, I've seen more hyper nights before- he seems to maybe be coming down a little (I've given him another dose of melatonin I am praying will kick in soon). I've wanted to share this for a long time because I don't think my words do it justice. And the strangest part about this is that yes, Brian does present as a high-energy boy during the day- but NOTHING near what he presents during these night-wakings. I never would see him gyrating his body how he does or just the non-stop noises- they are noises I don't even hear during the day. Now that I'm wide awake, let me take my own dose of melatonin. Fingers crossed that at least one of us gets some sleep in the four hours I have until my alarm goes off!

Reasons to Celebrate

I received an email a little while ago from the Autism Society of Maine to let me know that Team Brian was the team that brought in the most donations during the Walk for Autism event! Go Team Brian!



AND we just found out that Corbin's submission to the Smoke-Free for ME contest is one of the raffle winners of this month and his picture will be shared online for the month. It was hard to get him to realize he didn't actually win anything but I think he got it, because now he keeps coming up and saying, "Mom, will you go online and show me my famous picture again?".

i really have no clue

Brian, just today, noticed the four boxed seasons of LOST on our movie shelves. He became instantly obsessed over them. He was carrying them from one surface to another, lining them up with the fronts facing him, then with the sides facing him. He would "walk" them across the table and then put them back in their spots. He was counting them, lifting the covers one by one and then returning them. He tried to bring them upstairs several times and became very upset when I told him he couldn't. I don't know why there was this sudden obsession. I think he really liked the numbers on the boxes, as he has always loved numbers. And even though he's never seen a season of LOST maybe he just has good taste, like his mother.




I love to look at Brian's quirks, obsessions, body contortions, tantrums, etc. and try to analyze them. Try to figure out why it is why he is behaving in such manners. I think I'm pretty good at it, as I've learned more and more about sensory integration and the way different foods effect him. BUT really, let's admit, no one ever truly knows, besides the person having the behaviors.

So I'm just gonna admit it, I have no clue why he played with these four boxed sets for forty-five minutes today.

Sheer Bliss

One of Brian's favorite thing about festivities is sneaking the balloons out the front door so he can let them "free". Oh, he gets so much excitement watching them drift up into the blue sky. I've learned to never let a balloon enter my home without being tied to something.

This year we tried something completely different and tied the balloons to a fifty-five foot long spool of ribbon and let Brian enjoy one of his "passions" outdoors, without actually polluting the air with the balloons.

He was in sheer bliss. It was definitely one of my better ideas of the year.