Life on the Spectrum: Terrific Thursday

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Terrific Thursday

I really meant to post yesterday, but school has recently started and it seems like I hardly have a minute to myself.

Okay, enough with the excuses and on to the part where I brag about my boys!

Big Guy is gearing up for college, which begins on Monday. He is taking 14 credits this semester. Big Guy also continues to show an increase with personal responsibility. My husband recently took the kids to a rental we own and had them help clean for a while, and he said that Big Guy stayed focused on each task and even came to him when each job was finished and asked what he wanted done next. This kind of thing just does not usually happen with our oldest son and it is gratifying to us to see these skills beginning to emerge, as they will greatly help Big Guy have a successful college experience.

Little Guy is finally back to having fewer meltdowns!!! I was able to take him to story time at the local library this week, which he tolerated quite well. Although I feel that we're not quite back to his optimum level of regulation, we are definitely back on the right track. This is especially important as school has started; with my "babysitters" back in class, there will be many times I have no choice but to take Little Guy with me during errands.

Here's hoping that the rest of the week is "terrific"!

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Our family consists of myself, my husband of 22 years, and 4 wonderful children. "Big Guy" is our oldest and was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome four years ago. He attends college, majoring in English. "Little Guy" just started kindergarten and is also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. We also have 2 "neurotypical" children. "Sis" is our only daughter and just began her second year of college. Her sweet willingness to help certainly is a big boost to her mother's sanity! "Middle Guy" rounds out the group; he just started high school and is quite busy with various activities. We try living each day to the fullest, never knowing what tomorrow (or even the next moment) might bring!

An online source states "Asperger's syndrome (also called Asperger's syndrome, Asperger's disorder, Asperger's or AS) is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and people with AS therefore show significant difficulties in social interaction and restricted, stereotyped patterns of behavior and interests. AS differs from other ASDs by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development."

On a more personal level, this is what a person with autism had to offer about their own experience with this lifelong developmental disability:
Reality to an autistic person is a confusing mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights. There seem to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of my life is spent just trying to work out the pattern behind everything.

A source much closer to home brings this perspective......"It's like everyone one else is playing a game that you'd really like to join, only you don't know the rules. When you ask someone to explain the rules, it's as if they are speaking in Japanese; you have no idea what they're talking about. You are left stuck behind a fence, watching as the game of life goes on without you."