April 2 Is World Autism Day!

Hats off to CNN for their extensive coverage of autism this week. You can watch it on TV or catch some of it here: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/news/autism/

So Obsessive!

Dylan is obsessing over so many things right now. I gotta figure out what is causing it. He is obsessed with watching old videos of Baby Einstein, something he's long outgrown. Yesterday, at church he was so obsessed with this flat tire outside that he could NOT go inside. He spent about an hour in the parking lot. I told his teacher, it probably would have been faster to just change a stranger's tire! He wants the lights on in the playroom, even when he's not playing in there. For all the highs we've had lately, this obsessive behavior is for sure a low. I've gotten some advice from other parents on what may be causing it, so I'll have to do some experiments with his vitamins this week. Wish me luck, I NEED good results!

I love this new video on You Tube, it even shows the place where Dylan goes to occupational therapy!

At Six, He's in the Driver's Seat...

Dylan is turning six, and we celebrated his birthday with a fun bowling party. If only I had known when he was two or three, all the things he'd be doing now. We still have a long uphill battle on this journey of autism. But, here are a few of the things I could have never imagined him doing in the beginning of this diagnosis:

1. Playing with his toys with an imagination and not just lining them up.
2. Enjoying coloring, without it being a task forced on him.
3. Bowling at his party with two friends he's made at Kindergarten.
4. Sharing his toys, without my forcing him. Today, he willingly gave his sister a turn on one of his new birthday toys.
5. When I told him it was time for his party, he said "Dylan likes chocolate cake!"
6. Making more eye contact.
7. Reading and loving it!
8. Playing catch, back and forth for longer than one throw.
9. Wanting to play with toys for his age, like Legos and rockets.
10. Saying "I Love You!" spontaneously!

Happy Birthday Dylan! You really are at the wheel now of your recovery and I can tell your hard work is paying off for you!

Basketball Hero With Autism, 1 Year Later

J-Mac, the boy with autism who scored 20 points in 4 mintues in his school's basketball game, now has a book out. I love this kid's story. His mom says she never imagined him going this far. She says in the beginning, you just want one word out of them. You never imagine how far they can go...

So Alive!

Sometimes there's a dull look to Dylan's face, like nothing in the world phases him. He can so be in his own world and we fight and scream to pull him out.

At other times, like this week, he has his glowing face on and everything seems silly and fun to him. Things seem to flow a little easier for him and he's high on life. I love weeks like this when he's so "alive" and fun to be around.


Like this Saturday morning, Eric and I were trying to sleep in a bit when we heard Dylan trying to figure out how to make his younger sister happy. She was fussy and wanting breakfast. We heard Dylan say, "Do you want some Blue Bell (ice cream) for breakfast?" Awwww, how thoughtful!

He has a favorite computer game that makes him giggle. He even grabbed my camera to take a photo of his "fish" game. (This game explains why I can't blog till midnight!)



These are the things that bring the biggest smile to his face right now: fish game on the computer, Lego cars, crayons and tinker toys. Then, repeat each one of these!

He's so "connected" right now with us and I wish I knew what makes him come out of his shell. Like tonight at dinner, he picked up one of his vitamins and pretended it was an animal from "Wonder Pets." He sang the WHOLE song with his little "animal" vitamin. If only I could keep him in this connected state all the time!

Sour Cream

She Says:
Tonight at dinner our daughter Ella was singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." And just to tease her, we kept changing the ending. She'd say "life is but a dream" and Eric would tease her by singing it "life is but a scream" and I said "but an ice cream."

All of a sudden Dylan chimed in with "but a sour cream."

Eric and I's jaws hit the floor. WHAT? He can rhyme? And not just on the computer, but our son with autism can rhyme verbally and in context of what the whole family is talking about.

I'm still amazed. Not only did Dylan join in our conversation, but he did it creatively. Life doesn't get much better than this. I'll never look at sour cream the same way!

Hearing Loss

He Says:

My hearing has been normal for most of my life. No real issues, just standard hearing. Then at age two my son started screaming. This is not a flop-on-the-floor-no-candy at-the-check-out-isle scream. Screams from horror films are also lightweight.

This scream startles people. It provokes the oddest responses. The strangest response is also the most common. People scream back at my son. And they try to copy Dylan's scream.

After a standard hunting trip, my ear started ringing. My ear nose and throat doctor happens to be my sons primary teacher. He knows Dylan's scream.

Here is what has happened. My ear received a repetitive injury that weakend my ear. Then all it took is a couple of shots to knock out my hearing.

Since I don't do anything with tools, or even listen to the radio loudly, there is only one source that could have weakened my hearing: my autistic son's scream. Moral of the story--wear ear protection. And be willing to give up things that you never thought you'd have to give up for your kids.