We started realizing just how much was going on inside our nearly silent child's mind about three years ago. He started using his iPad to match words with things. For example, if it started raining outside, he would walk to the window and find something about it raining on the iPad. Or after his dental surgery a couple years back as he was laying in recovery, he started playing a Sesame street video about visiting the dentist. While on vacation with my parents, he started getting a stomach bug and before we knew what was going on, he used his iPad to tell us all he didn't feel good. This let us know that he was aware of things around him, but since then, with the growth of his speech we have also seen a growth in revelations about his personality through things he "says" through his iPad and videos on it. He now targets specific phrases in his videos to tell us things. George and I feel like the grinch where his heart grows. Every time Clayton "tells" us something and reveals himself to us, our hearts grow. I swear we can feel it too. Because that's the thing... Clayton isn't just telling us things, but he is showing us who he is.
Here are a few of our favorite recent moments...
While cruising in the golf cart at Fort Wilderness, he wanted to go shopping two different times/days and we told him no to which he "said" through video clips...
1st time..."Disappointed"
2nd time..."I don't like you very much... but I like you" I'm guessing I was the bad cop here?
And then recently, after days of being sick, he was ready to get out of the house, but I was sick and told him no, to which he responded through a video clip,
"But mother, I don't want to be cooped up all day."
I love these moments because it tells me so much about him. (A) it tells be how dang sassy he is (B) it tells me how intensely complicated his mind is that he is able to recognize the the meaning of these phrases and the situations to which they apply and recall exactly where they are when he needs them. I mean seriously, he has this enormous arsenal of phrases memorized to know where they are within his video collection when he needs them...it is crazy!
I have been meaning to talk more about this side of Clayton and our lives and haven't gotten to it yet and then we watched a 20/20 episode, "Finding Owen: A Boy's Story", on Thanksgiving that had so many similarities it was eerie and pushed me to go ahead and show this side of our lives. I think it is important for people to see this side of children like Clayton and recognize that just because they are different (and sometimes nonverbal) does not mean their brains are empty and they are void of feelings. There is so much there. And these children have so much joy to offer to those around them.
I have never been around an autistic child before Clayton and even now I am only around him, so when I see or hear these stories I am immensely intrigued. I love hearing about kids similar to Clayton. Especially learning how children like him interact with the world around them because it helps me to know if I'm on the right path or not. Fortunately, I feel like I am. I make a point to surround him with things he loves not the things I love and through the stories I have heard this is super important. I also know from my own experience that while Clayton might not pay attention to me or other people, he will pay attention to his "characters". So I use that to help him learn as best I can. I also have been reassured through other's experiences that we are right in monitoring what he watches and what "characters" he has access to is important as well. For example, George and I do not encourage SpongeBob and do not allow it at the house on TV or through toys. If he is going to form attachment to and love his characters so much we want to open doors to the right characters and close doors to the wrong ones.
Anyhow, just a snippet of life with Clayton...
No comments:
Post a Comment