Sunday, May 31, 2009
Asperger's theory does about-face
Rather than ignoring others, researchers think spectrum sufferers care too much. You can read the rest of the article HERE
Friday, May 1, 2009
You are shrinking! You are shrinking! You are shrinking!
Tallen has been highly stressed lately. It seems that just when I calm one of his irrational fears, someone has to open their big mouth and get him worried about something else. One of the symptoms of his disorder is that he takes everything he hears literally. If someone has a headache and comments, "My head is about to bust!", he moves out of the way with a quickness! lol Or if for instance, you were to ask him if he'd like to run over to Grandma's house with you, he really thinks that the two of you will be running instead of driving.
We are used to this quirk and just take care in how we say things around him but someone, probably a person that he saw when he was out with his dad the other day, told him that he sure was growing up fast. Now, he is convinced and worried that he is growing taller, fast. As in, soon he will be too tall for the house. He spends countless minutes during the day, discussing this with me. Where will he go when he busts out of this house? Does he need to build a new house, so we will have somewhere to go? Can I take him shopping for building supplies? On and on and on... The normal explanation of how he will only grow so much and then stop when he is an adult, does not register with him.
Out of frustration the other day, the girls and I gathered in a circle with him, held hands, and chanted, "You are shrinking! You are shrinking! You are shrinking!". This did the trick for a few hours. Now, every few hours, he turns up by my side and asks me to please shrink him again, as he feels like he is growing. I perform my magic chant and he breathes a sigh of relief. If one takes a moment and thinks of how many things we say without a second thought each day and imagines them in a literal sense, it is easy to see how scary this world must be for Tallen and others like him.
We are used to this quirk and just take care in how we say things around him but someone, probably a person that he saw when he was out with his dad the other day, told him that he sure was growing up fast. Now, he is convinced and worried that he is growing taller, fast. As in, soon he will be too tall for the house. He spends countless minutes during the day, discussing this with me. Where will he go when he busts out of this house? Does he need to build a new house, so we will have somewhere to go? Can I take him shopping for building supplies? On and on and on... The normal explanation of how he will only grow so much and then stop when he is an adult, does not register with him.
Out of frustration the other day, the girls and I gathered in a circle with him, held hands, and chanted, "You are shrinking! You are shrinking! You are shrinking!". This did the trick for a few hours. Now, every few hours, he turns up by my side and asks me to please shrink him again, as he feels like he is growing. I perform my magic chant and he breathes a sigh of relief. If one takes a moment and thinks of how many things we say without a second thought each day and imagines them in a literal sense, it is easy to see how scary this world must be for Tallen and others like him.
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