Autism: Surviving and Thriving

Fourteen years ago my youngest 3 boys were diagnosed with autism within a 9 month span. Devastation and grieving followed. Doctors gave me little or no hope, but they didn't know me very well. I refused to believe that my boys were doomed.

My boys are now young men, adults with autism. They are thriving, but every day presents its turmoil and challenges.

My family: husband Mike, sons Ryan 23 yr, Nicholas 21 yr, and Cameron 18 yr. (Ryan and Nick have autism; Cam has recovered from autism.) Our oldest sons, Michael 34 yr and Stuart 25 yr, moved out of the house. Ryan has also moved out, and is still working towards complete independence.

Monday, August 12, 2013

So Literal!

Nick came home with Spanish homework.  He had several worksheets to complete.  He filled those out rather easily, but it was painstakingly time consuming.  To help him study, we picked just a section to review.  The easiest section was the days of the week.

At the top of the paper, I wrote the Spanish word for Monday, which is lunes.  I told Nick to write Monday five times.  I explained to Nick that he needs to learn how to write, say, and spell these Spanish words, including accents.  Nick has a great memory, especially when concepts are repeated.

I came back a few minutes later to find that Nick had written Monday five times under lunes.  I asked him, "Why?" Of course, I quickly answered, "Because that's what I said.  Isn't it?"  He shook his head yes.

How easily I forget.  I naturally thought he'd understand to write lunes five times under lunes.  However, that is NOT what I said.  He followed what I said.

This just underscores how precise I have to be, especially now with Nick studying another language.  Oh boy!

No comments:

Post a Comment