I'm Impressed. Really.

Posted by on Apr 7, 2011 | 0 comments

One of the hallmarks of autism is an apparent lack of emotional engagement in the outside world.  Autistic individuals often seem to regard happenings and others passively, with little or no reaction, even in an emotionally charged situation.

Thankfully Jack is rich with outward emotion (even though it may not always be the appropriate one).  While he has feelings just like any other child, he’s had to learn how to express them properly, just like he had to learn proper speech patterns.

Watching him work things out like that fascinates me.  I love to ask him questions, like “did you enjoy that walk we took?” or “how did you feel when your brother finished a puzzle all by himself?”  I want to see if what he was experiencing inside jibed with how he physically reacted.  More and more, the two are aligning.

As much as I love being involved in his learning processes, I’m starting to think my innocent queries are wearing on Jack.

Waterfalls

We took a drive through the mountains a few weeks ago, and the melting snow made waterfalls all along our route.  The boys were giddy trying to find them all.  After a while, they grew silent.

“Jack, are you still looking out the window? What do you see?” I asked.

“I saw the waterfalls and I said ‘ooooh’ to them,” he snapped back.

Well alrighty then.  Perhaps I should find a less obvious way to be all up in my son’s emotional development.

Jack says "oooh."

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