Saturday, April 26, 2008

Living with Autism can be Funny


So much has happened this week that I almost don't know where to start.


John started on an alternative medicine for his ADHD. We have been having some good days and some not so good days. As it is herbal, they said not to expect it to kick in for approx 5 weeks so I am just waiting and hoping.


Nathan went to his NAET treatment and we had to retreat the same allergen as we did the week before. He was very calm and quiet during this treatment. A different child from the one that had attended with me the week before.


Kathleen currently has a thing for eggs. She will crack some into the frypan and lay the spatula on the counter next to the stove and then go and get me. I worked out in one day, I was cooking close to a dozen eggs and was a bit concerned about her eating so many but then I noticed one of our dogs sat continuously outside the kitchen window. Just sat there, didn't move and I thought that was a bit odd.

Well, I did until I noticed that Kathleen was taking her egg over to the window, eating a little of it and then the dog puts her paws up on the side of the house and she is so big that her head is at least up to the window and she takes the egg gently off Kathleen.


Katy is best friends with the dogs, she loves them and they tend to follow her around the yard. She feeds them on a regular basis. She attempts to ride the big one and she is so used to the kids that she lets her get on and then she sits down. At times Katy gets so frustrated with her but then they make up pretty quickly.


Nathan has a very infectious laugh, when he chuckles it just makes you want to laugh. Today while I was changing Eric in the dining room, I could hear Nathan in the kitchen and he was just chuckling up a storm. That usually means that he is up to something so I sent Rachel to see what he was laughing at. She came back and reported that he was laughing at the juice bottle.

Couldn't see much to laugh of about that but as I rounded the corner I realized, he had taken the opportunity while I was busy and not there to watch him, to drink out of the bottle and he was taking a drink and then just chuckling up a storm. I guess he figured he was putting one over me.


Kathleen took a nap this avo. She is amusing herself in the loungeroom. I put Blue's Clues slippers on her after her bath and she thinks they are the most wonderful things. She lay on her back on the floor, put her feet in the air and waggled the ears of those slippers for the longest time.


Sarah being a very independent young lady decides on what she is going to wear and won't let anyone tell her different. She comes up with some very unusual creations. She reminds us a bit of Molly Ringwold.


Our cat was outside surveying his kingdom this evening when he met a little dog that turned his evening stroll into a race up the nearest tree. A young boy collected the little dog but I couldn't entice the cat down. Nathan was very concerned and wanted to go get him.

He undid the window on the inside in the dining room but I put that back together. Then he undid the window winder from the kitchen and put it on the dining room window, I guess he intended to climb out it again to go get the cat.

Finally the cat did come down by itself and so I took it in to Nathan who was laying on the couch.

When he noticed the cat in my arms, he had a smile from ear to ear.


I think that Kathleen's comprehension must be pretty close to 100% now. We were all playing cats and dogs this afternoon and then John stopped and got himself some juice. He spilt some on the floor and I asked him to get a towel to cleanit up but before he had a chance to go, Kathleen was placing one on the floor and then patting it with her foot.


One of my friends gave us a spinning toy that has been so wonderful for all the kids. On Friday night, I took off the middle piece so Nathan could sit on it more comfortably and asked him to cross his legs which he did. Then I spun him and boy does that thing go fast. He would go round a few times and then fall off and lay on the ground giggling up a storm. It was a hoot. Everyone except me got a turn. Eric loves it too.


Eric got hold of the phone today and carried it around murmuring to the back end of it. He knows how to turn it on and gets upset when I push the off button. We took him to Glendive shopping on Friday and he went to the door and said "bye". It was terribly cute.


We did more grass seeding in the backyard today. Man that is a job and a half. I am having to chop up half the backyard with a shovel as the dogs and the kids have dug holes and some of the ground is so hard and grassless. It is my intention to get it as level as possible and grassed. I am not going to bring in more dirt so I am digging the holes bigger and leveling the area around them. So far it has worked pretty well. Nathan was really getting into it and I had him and Sarah helping me today. My back is killing me but, it will be worth it and I am glad that the kids are joining in. Tomorrow if I can walk we will do some more. I covered part of what we had done as I don't want the dogs redigging and tomorrow, I guess, I will try to rig up a fence.

The boys are doing really well. It is great that they are able to help me with things like moving stuff and fairly easy jobs. And I think it helps them learn too.

Later.

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