Thursday, February 21, 2008

My sweet boy..


Look at that face...

He examines every little detail sometimes..it's an interesting exercise in thought to try to figure out what really goes on inside the mind of the autistic child. What does he see? Is it more vivid?

Today he was busy drawing carrots and showing them off. I thought about how grateful I am that he now seeks us all out to show off his work. I find that so amazing every time he does it. Yes, he draws the same thing over and over again until he is happy with it, but he shows it off now, every time. Every day he wants to include us in his world. We have this amazing relationship with him that most parents don't have a chance to value.

He likes to draw everything with a face now, too. His people have eyes and a big smile, every single time. I am grateful that he sees people with a joyful expression. He is a pretty joyful guy almost all the time, so that probably helps. I am grateful he is not the melting down type, and that we are aware enough as parents to notice when he is having sensory overload issues and can figure out ways to help him.

Today I gave him massage and deep squeezing touches. He loves this. He craves deep touching so that he can figure out where he is, and so he can center himself. When he is overloading, he'll often bang into things on purpose or throw his body about. Today I watched him at a very busy indoor playground do this a few times..lay on the floor and wiggle, and when he was satisfied and centered, he got up and went about playing like the other children. I realized that he does have the ability to overcome sensory overload now. I wonder if it's because I tune in when he seems to need help? Not sure...but I'm grateful he can do this without me or his dad when he needs to.

Eli is a beautiful child with a beautiful vision. I hope through all his life he keeps that alive. Maybe he'll grow up to be an artist, who knows. I just hope someday he can share what he sees; I have a feeling it's extraordinary.

4 comments:

Mama Sarita said...

That was lovely...

Michelle ~ Blogging from the Boonies said...

He is an adorable boy! My nephew Lucas, who is 14 years old and Autistic, is spending the night tonight. It has been amazing to see him grow from a little boy whom we didn't know if he'd even ever speak, to a funny and highly vocal young man.

I'll probably blog a little about him tonight or tomorrow.

I like reading your blog, Meg!

lemonsong said...

They're amazing aren't they? Just that glimpse into their minds, that work so differently from ours, can show you how amazingly beautiful life is. Sometimes, I wonder who is at the disadvantage. Them or us.

Shelly said...

What an awesome kid! I can't wait to meet you guys, I think we have so much in common.