Yesterday we took the boys to the museum. We go there often and our older two love it. There is so much for children to see and do and we would need a week to see it all so they never get bored of it.
Yesterday I took Jonah out of the pram and let him wander around in the play areas. I filmed him on my iPhone and when I get my new computer (this one is borrowed) I will start putting some of that video footage on here.
If you ever wondered what autism looked like walking around you'd have seen it yesterday. Jonah flitted from toy to toy, thing to thing, didn't really play with anything, didn't notice or care to notice anyone around him and he never looked back to see where I was when he wandered off. Sometimes he'd see objects but never the person attached to them. At one stage he saw a big tower of blocks but he didn't see the boy that built them. He went for the blocks and unlike other toddlers who just want things because they are toddlers and that's what toddlers do, Jonah was just oblivious to the fact that this boy was there at all.
The saddest thing though, twice yesterday there were flocks of birds on the ground. All of my other boys would have chased through that flock, squealing with excitement as though they might even catch one. Jonah didn't care. The birds were there, all around him and he didn't even seem to notice. I wanted him to chase them, to run and them and gasp with delight as they flew off into the sky. I wanted him to tell him no, Jonah leave the birds alone, don't bother them knowing all the while that he could never catch one. But I didn't say it because he didn't chase them.
I filmed the play area, all of the other children running, chasing, squealing, catching, climbing and crying. And then there was Jonah, wandering away, never looking back, picking up small twigs studying them for a moment and dropping them to wander off again. He didn't care for the other children and to him they may have well been statues. I was so sad as I filmed him. He looked so different from the other children. To those who do not know he has autism he would have looked like a delightful quiet little boy, happy to entertain himself.
Oh how I wish.
One day Donna, one day he will not only chase the birds, he will fly with them - to the sky and beyond. With you as his Mummy there will be no mountain he can not climb, he is just a little slower to get going. I can only compare him to my niece - this was once her, now she flys to Japan with her school, speaks fluent Japanese and plays the most amazing flute. It took a lot of intervention to get her here (she has just turned 17) but she did. I hope this gives you some hope. xxx
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