Go ahead...

As you know, GL loves movies. He loves quoting movies. He'll frequently tell us about this or that movie that's "Coming too soon on video and DDD!" He especially loves Disney/Pixar movies.  His all-time favorite movie is Monsters, Inc. And his favorite part of any DVD is the bonus features.  When I drop him off at school, after we successfully navigate a busy parking lot filled with teen drivers and are nearly to the door, if there's nothing coming, I let him cross the last lane by himself. The last few mornings, as he walks away, I say, "Go ahead… Go throw up!" It makes him smile every time.

The Four Levels of Social Entrapment

The Four Levels of Social Entrapment

I walk into the bathroom and stand in front of the toilet. GL follows me into the bathroom, watches me unzip, and says, "Hi, Dad. What are you doing?"

Dolphin Tale

A friend took GL to see Dolphin Tale this morning. He was so excited, when he got home, he ran through the door and shouted, "Hi, Mr. um, hi, Dad! Guess what? I saw a movie!"

BB asked, "What movie did you see?"

GL answered, "A Dolphin's Tale. It's about dolphins being saved by people. You wouldn't understand it. Maybe when you're older, I'll teach you about dolphins."

Walking home from the library this morning, we met an elderly woman.
Elderly Woman: "Hello."
Goldilocks: "Hello! and Welcome to the Bonus Features!"

This made me smile

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated

After vomiting Monday night, GL missed the first day back to school on Tuesday as a precaution, but he did not throw up again. The rest of us had sore throats, runny noses, and generally felt crummy for a few days, but are pretty much back to normal now. And I am still way behind on reading my blogs. 

GL is doing much better on his new med, not hitting or threatening people. His reports about school are completely unreliable, and the school is not as communicative as we would wish, but the reports we have been getting are all good. He is asking repetitive questions, mainly about his birthday. We have shown him the calendar, and attempted to explain numerous times how many weeks and days until his birthday, but he just doesn't get it. On more than one occasion, he woke his brother up in the middle of the night to ask him when is birthday was.

It is snowing, and some schools have already cancelled for tomorrow. GL is confused and worried about his schedule under the best of circumstances, and asked several times today whether he had school tomorrow. I wish I knew one way or the other.

On the way home from school today, I noticed he was sticking his tongue out. I asked, "Are you catching snowflakes with your tongue?" 

He said he was. I asked, "What do they taste like?"

He said, "They taste like dirt!"

Sanka, Are You Dead? Yah, Mon!

I haven't had time to read blogs in a while, much less post. Even when I check my email, I only scan my inbox for items that require my immediate attention. Yesterday was the last day of what GL's school calls Winter Break in order to avoid offending hundreds of imaginary people. So I thought today would be the day we could begin getting back to our routine. I'm glad Christmas Vacation was only eight days; disruption to routine is bad enough, but GL always thinks everything is permanent. He asks about school many times a day, but he keeps insisting that he was expelled from school and can never go back.

Yesterday we all woke up with sore throats. Last night, GL started throwing up. I think I'll be sitting on the couch a lot today; the laundry can wait. Enough spreading the sunshine!

Which brings me to the award I got this morning. Rules are here.

1. Thanks, Dee.
2. http://www.snippetsnstuff.com/2012/01/how-lucky-am-i.html
3. Cyan. Mama Bear. I agree with Dee's answer. Coffee. Neither. (I didn't log in to Facebook for two weeks and didn't miss it. Logged in to see what I'd missed. Nothing. And I'm not a Twit.)  Reading. Giving presents. To myself. July 4, 1776. Freshly ground whole wheat.

Read the blogs in my sidebar. They each deserve an award.

Stollen

Papa Bear's Papa brought us some baked goods. He said, "This is stollen, but I didn't break any Commandments."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stollen

How Was School Today?

Like Big Daddy Autism, I have a hard time finding out what my son did in school. He rarely volunteers information, and when he does, it's unreliable. If I ask what he did at school, I may or may not get an answer. If I get an answer, it may or may not have anything to do with school. If it has anything to do with school, it may or may not have anything to do with reality.

He has recently learned to lie, but his lies are usually so absurd no one would believe them. On the rare occasions he hits on a believable story, given his record, we are still skeptical. But once in a while he tells the truth, just to mix things up a bit. And he does some strange things sometimes, which he may or may not realize are strange and may or may not tell us about.

Here is an example of a conversation we had about an event I'm pretty sure never occurred:
PB: What did you do in school today?
GL: I went to the gym.
PB: What did you do in gym?
GL: My teacher made me do push-ups and sit-ups until I threw up.
PB: How many did you do?
GL: Four.

Literally

All day yesterday, GL had been whining that he needed an "adventure". An "adventure" is when someone gets in the car with him, drives at least the minimum distance he thinks necessary, and buys him a snack. If either the drive or the snack don't meet his satisfaction, the "adventure" doesn't count. And as soon as anyone agrees to a particular snack, he starts negotiating upward.

MB was planning to go grocery shopping and, while GL would count that as an adventure, (provided the snack meets with his approval) taking him along is usually more adventure than MB wants to deal with. I had to be elsewhere, so I couldn't watch the boys. MB decided she could handle bringing GL if BB would help by getting items off the shelf and into the cart while she pushed the cart, read the list, and tried to contain GL. In the car, on the way to the store, MB reviewed her expectations with the boys: "We are going grocery shopping. BB, I want you to get things off the shelf as I read them from the list. GL, I want you to hold on to the cart. And you're going to have to move."

"But-but-but," said GL, "I don't want to move! I like our house!"

Griffin would have been proud.

Fallen on Hard Times

While presumably still fighting crime by night, by day, Bruce Wayne apparently pays the bills by teaching at my son's high school:

If I'd Only Known it Was This Easy!

Full title:
Life's Little Secrets and Shortcuts for Dummies - Solve Life's Big Problems In Seconds

Holes

People on the Autism Spectrum tend to have uneven development. They may excel far beyond their peers in one area, yet lag far behind their general developmental level in another, while a skill you would assume they would have, given their development in other areas, may be missing entirely. These "holes" or "gaps" can give results on cognitive and social developmental tests that have been compared to Swiss cheese.

Before enrolling GL at the local high school this fall, we took him to his doctor for a checkup and to get the immunizations recommended for a high school freshman. In the exam room, a nurse set out a copy of the same developmental questionnaire we answer at all his checkups, the one for typically-developing 0-6 year olds. GL picked it up and began reading the questions aloud. The nurse said, "Maybe I should get the 6-12 year old form."

GL answered, "No, I still can't cross the street by myself."

Tru dat.

Possibly the hardest thing that he ever had to do...

Waking Up is Hard to Do

I haven't needed an alarm clock in years. The boys always wake me up with their bickering. I was up late last night, and then had trouble getting to sleep because of allergies. This morning, the boys didn't fight. GL was up early, as usual, but he didn't wake BB or start a squabble. He came into my room to make various announcements as he always does in the early morning and, as usual, I went back to sleep. When I finally woke up enough to see what time it was, it was time for GL to leave for school. I ended up getting him there fifteen minutes late. Waking Up Is Hard To Do.

Good News / Bad News

The Good News: GL has been wiping the jelly off his hands after making a sandwich.
The Bad News: He has been using my jacket for a napkin.

Someone had this for a Facebook profile pic. If you copy it, you're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen.