Magic Marker Monday: Doodles

James' sister is down with the flu for the second time this year. It means a lot of sleepless nights for she and I, and saying goodbye to what little spare brainpower I've had.

Case in point: I let James draw with markers at the kitchen table while I tended his sister. I was so tired at bedtime that I did not notice what he'd snuck into his room: paper and markers. Oh no.

Normally I'd be awakened by a tattooed and totally cheerful boy the next morning. I shudder to think what could have happened to the walls, which suck up any colour and refuse to turn it loose, even with Mr Clean Magic Eraser assistance.

Instead, he doodled on the paper, his hands, his mirror, and part of his bed. Magic Markers, indeed!






... And this one did make me laugh: he wrote in marker on his Magna Doodle:

Good luck erasing that one, Dude!

For more great masterpieces or to share some of your own, visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs for more Magic Marker Monday.


  

Cacophony

Even as it raises my blood pressure, it reassures me. At age of 3, even going into age 4, James was largely silent. He could laugh and cry, and made noises (think of a baby learning to stand and walk, making sounds instead of words). Then he started to talk. Now he will not stop.

Much of it is scripting, repeating lines from movies or TV shows. But he can produce these scripts at appropriate social times. I hope it's helping him express himself. James lacks a filter, as to when to stop verbalizing and how to modulate his voice. He has 3 volume settings ... normal, loud, and bellow. Any verbal attempts to get him to lower the volume inevitably evokes an even louder "I'm awake too!!!" Strangely, telling him we need to whisper or using my thumb and pointing finger to shrink an invisible decibel reader display have more success in getting him to lower his tone.

A very painful moment for me came from watching James with a sucker after his first speech therapy session. At age 2 and a half, he could barely hold it, his fingers both grasping the stick and poinking out at strange angles. He had no idea what to do with it. Both the therapist, myself, and his sister modeled how to lick the sucker. He put it in his mouth, and it fell out because he did not close his mouth. He then lost interest in it. I wanted to cry.

James likewise had struggles to blow air out his mouth. He loved bubbles and tried so hard to blow them without success. He had difficulties with grasping many things in his mouth, with the exceptions of a spoon (he'd snap plastic ones) or paper (including books). We did have a breakthrough with one of those cheap play "microphones" -- he finally got talking into it and breathing out. He talked all the way through Target with that toy, and you know I bought it for him.

So when I hear him laugh, fight with his sister, and yell "Mommy! Where are you? Come and see!" I grin. When I am listening to "Itsy Bitsy Spiiiiider" sung into the "mike" for the tenth time in two minutes, I am excited. When his sister roars "Noooooooooo!" and hides in her room because, almost three years later, he's finally mastered the harmonica, I feel lucky to experience this cacophony.


And this? Priceless!

Blue Day

Have you heard about Light it up Blue?

It's one of the activities being highlighted for World Autism Awareness Day (today, April 2) and Autism Awareness Month (April) to shine a light on the subject of Autism. To get into the spirit of the event, here is James, lighting it up Blue, showing that kids with autism want to explore the world and share the love.

Baby James, boy in Blue!

Blues Clues shirt, his fav; he loves this show -- the clues, the paw prints ... the mail box ...

Playing with other kids and persisting in learning to climb up & down the net to the crow's nest at the Bay Area Discovery Museum ...

Texting, making, resting ...

Birthday boy, kicking boy, blue-eyed boy, laughing boy

Walking for answers, raising awareness ...

Our home is lighting up blue. For James.

Ag Day

James went on a field trip this week with most of the kindergartens from our school district. Ag Day! An important event here in Sonoma County. This was my first chance to chaperone and explore all the exhibits at the county fairgrounds.

While dogs in general make James very nervous, he works hard to overcome his fears. He kept going up to say "Hi!" to the digs on display in the Animal Shelter vehicle. I was fascinated by their neighbour, a 25-pound Maine Coon Cat named "McCoy."

James patted a baby calf, a tiny, squealing piglet, and a fire truck. He liked the feel of that so much he went through it twice.

He climbed a fire hydrant and ran fearlessly across a meadow and up a small hillside before returning to us. Then he sidled down the livestock stalls almost to another building before deciding to stay with myself and his aide.

Clo the Cow was winking and posing for pics with school kids. Clover passed out free cups of milk. There were roping demonstrations. Veterinarians showed interested kids the tools of their trade, and I saw a small herd of llamas on display, complete with llama crossing signs and a spinning wheel to demonstrate the usefulness of their wool. We skipped the noise involved with the sheep-shearing (the razors sound too much like a hair dryer/lawn mower for James' comfort).

There was so much to see but my visit was cut both ways. An unexpected call regarding his services held me up on my way to the field trip and my yard supervisor shift at lunch meant I had to leave a bit early. Never mind, we had a great day!

The Weekend Update

Okay, this is just plain teasing your Mom ...

James, drawing pictures, his name, and the word "sun," using both hands.

That Left-handed Thing Again

A YES! moment: James' teacher, aide, and O/T are finally coming around to looking into the possibility that James might be left handed.

We are going to start trying to encourage his left hand for writing. This is totally against conventional wisdom (you are supposed to put the pencil in the middle and let them choose which hand to use), but that is James, who is now having a meltdown fit if I turn left instead of right on the way home (he is that tied to routines). I think that he is choosing to write with his right hand because it's been his routine to do so.

He throws and kicks with his left. Without a pencil or crayon in his hand, he will write with his left fingers. My mom's family is full of lefties. When he grips a pencil with his left hand, the grip is better than with his right one, and while the writing is messier, he can still write using his left hand.

And I would like to clarify that even though this issue has been frustrating me, I still admire and have confidence in his team at school. They are looking at James, not just pushing him through a system, and I really appreciate it.

Puppet Show in a Tent

It's raining and hailing this morning. Again. We're coming off six weeks of someone being sick ... myself twice. Thanks kids, love ya!

Meanwhile the Christmas tree has finally departed and all decorations boxed neatly. Time to bring the play tent out of the garage and turn off the TV! James' sister took charge and started to set up a play area, complete with toys and snacks. Then she decided to put on a puppet show. Oh the fun!

There's a monkey pet ....

And a little Pony Girl, who is sad because her parents tell her they have no money for a pet (cue parental twinges of guilt, but it's true -- we can't afford vet bills at this point). Happily, she thinks to save her own money, and is finally able to buy her monkey pet. Theeeeeeeeeee end.

Both of them are still in here, with big sister driving the story lines and James contributing voices and sound effects. He's really contributing. I think about how nonverbal he's been over the years, how lonely big sister has been because there's been no one to play with ... and to hear the two of them playing together is like an answer to a whole slew of prayers.

Ooops, I can hear an intermission. James said "Let's take a break" and his sister is playing a lullaby on the piano for him while he takes a rest. Truly, I heart my kids.

PS: I got to clean out the spice cabinet while they played. Looooong overdue!