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Friday, December 29, 2006

How do I love thee?

Junior is going through a negative phase. It runs along the lines of ‘Nobody loves me /I have no friends/ everybody hates me.’ Our current campaign is to turn this around, accentuate the positive and eliminate this kind of spiral thought process. The tendency of many autistic children to drift towards depression is marked in statistical analysis.

I leave spouse in charge and dash to the shower. I’m not able to hear much because of the water, but as I stand on the toweling mat to dry myself off, I can hear voices outside in the hall: ‘d’ya luf me?’ Is that what he asked? Bless his little fragile ego! His speech delay makes him sound as if he has a mouth full of marbles. He is difficult to understand unless you’re familiar with his tone and phraseology, which I am.

I can also make out his sister's voice, mumbling something or other. His phrase is repeated at ten second intervals as I pull on socks and a cardi. I don’t bother to brush my hair, just run my fingers through as I’m in a hurry. If I speed up I might just be in time to prompt her to make an appropriate verbal response, something to help repel his inner voice of doubt.

She is of such a kindly disposition towards her brothers, that I’m confident that she’ll manage it on her own. Nonetheless I’d like to witness it. I poke the corner of the towel in my ear to dislodge the water and clarify my auditory channels.
I step towards the door and swing it open. I see her sitting astride his back make making small growling noises. Her little brother’s words are suddenly clearer, easier to distinguish = ‘geroff me!’ he squalks.

5 comments:

kristina said...

I also go by the tone of what Charlie says---sometimes it's all a bunch of melodic vowels.

Infinite the count, yes.

Lora said...

Wishing you a Happy New Year! I guess that I never really got to thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving comments. I hope that your new year is successful in every way. Take care

Mark said...

lol Ah, that sounds way too familiar!

Mom to Mr. Handsome said...

Your son is so beautiful! Gabe's language can be very simlilar. Boo, his sister, also can be very caring and understanding like your daughter. I feel blessed everyday that I had such a wonderful pair of kids that compliment each other so well.

Depression is a big concern I have for Gabe and also for Boo. Gabe, because he is a little different than his peers and Boo, because she is so sensitive and has some fluency problems with her speech. Your right on with building the self esteem with positive comments and a lot of love. If they have a good foundation of people who love them endlessly, I believe it will help carry them through most of life's challenges.

Happy New Year!
Kristin

Thanks for all your encouraging comments on my blog :o)

KC's Blog said...

Happy Happy New Year! What a cutie pie your little fella is!

 
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