Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Lucas-isms- Fascinating Behaviors of my Awesome Autistic Son

Every person on the Autism Spectrum is different.  This post celebrates the unique differences of my 10 year old son Lucas.  He is one of the reasons my life never has a dull moment.

Sayings:

"Mom, you're like a humpback whale"- this one is a compliment.  Humpback whales are very cool.  Whales of any kind are cool, but humpbacks are best.  As with all of these things, don't ask me why.  I have no idea.

"I HOPE....."  I hope school is tomorrow.  I hope I'na peanie butter sandwich.  Not I think, I hope.

"Butt-crack".  His current insult of choice.  Everyone is a butt-crack at one time or another. Especially his brothers.  They are "butt cracks" a LOT.  

"Is it three o'clock?" This question is asked MANY times a day when he is home.  We put up sticky notes by the clock to remind him when it is three o'clock.  Because 3:00, you see, is when he gets to use the iPad to watch whale videos.

"Mom, how you spell Aquarium (or a type of whale, or anything to do with the ocean)?" so he can look it up on the internet.

"I'na go aquarium.  Can we go aquarium?". Lucas would go every day if I would let him.  He likes to touch the sharks and rays in the petting tank. He is in heaven doing that.

"Bless we have a wonderful weekend" in EVERY prayer.

"I'na pancakes with sugar".  "I'na rice with butter"- his two favorite things to eat since forever..

"Mom, you forgota...  " whenever I've taken too long to do what he wants me to do..

"I can't take this any more!!" (wonder where he got that one- cough, cough).

Trouble, Us?  Never.  Having fun camping.

Obsessions:  
  • The movie Polar Express (until about age five) .  When Luke first learned to talk at all, in fact probably until he was about four, "Polo Epess"  (Polar Express) was his answer to any question asked him by a stranger.  "What's your name?"  "Polo Epess".  "How old are you?"  "Polo Epess". The movie was his obsession at the time. 
  • Thomas the Tank Engine 
  • NIght at the Museum 
  • Other movies to a lesser extent- Transformers (which we didn't let him watch, but he loved anyway), Madagascar, Ice Age. He liked the exciting parts.
  • Whales (and to a lesser extent sharks)- this one has been going for the longest time of any obsession.  Lucas can recite the Disney movie Oceans (or at least the parts that have anything to do with whales).  He can identify whale types and tell you random facts about many types of whales.  When he wants to make conversation, he will ask you questions about whales or sharks.  "Mom, whale sharks have gills?"  He, of course, already knows the answers to these questions.  

Lucas and one of his favorites
 
Stimming objects:

"Stimming" for the non-autism savvy, is self-soothing repetitive behavior.  Self- stimulating behavior (no, not that kind, at least not at this point.  Oh dear.  I don't want to think about that...)  Lucas' particular brand of stimming involves flipping things around in his hands, always in pairs.  
  • Fingers, always available  
  • Polar Express tickets.  During his Polar Express obsession, we printed multiple "tickets" per day on the computer.  He always needed two at a time. 
  • Bandaids.  He used to randomly tell people "I like Bandaids, not stickers". Every time we went to Target we had to buy bandaids. 
  • Movie/DVD cases.  I had to take all of our movies out of their cases and hide the cases or he would steal them and/or take them outside and lose them.  
  • Fruit snacks boxes- he used to love fruit snacks so much that he would ask for them for Christmas.  He always wanted fruit snacks for movies that didn't have them, like Night at the Museum. 
  • Receipts, long, undamaged, unfolded and bent are best, preferably from Costco (could it be because those are the longest receipts we have? :) 
  • Socks, this is the latest stimmer obsession.  He will take his socks off if no other stimmers are available and flip them around.  Why socks?  I have NO IDEA.
One of Luke's favorite Christmas gifts- a documentary




I love my Lucas.  He is a wonderful boy.  A big-time challenge?  Yes.  Do I get sad sometimes that he's not doing "normal" ten year old boy things? Yes. Very.  But he's still a joy.  

Don't believe me?  Watch this video, made by my son Garrett for the end of school a couple of years ago. 


What's your favorite thing about Lucas?  Have any questions about Autism or life with an Autistic child?  I'd love to hear from you.  Leave me a comment below.




Sunday, February 10, 2013

Before and After- Getting Organized


Craft cupboard BEFORE-notice everything
shoved everywhere.  Yeah.  Classy.
Cupboard AFTER- all labeled and purdy.  

 In which I come clean (groan) about tackling some of my biggest messes...


Pantry BEFORE-an
overflowing mess
I've been sick these last few days with Strep Throat.  Big Yuck.  Before that, though, I was a lean (well, not quite), mean (not usually, but sometimes) organizing machine.  I've cleaned out and organized three bathrooms, three bedroom closets, a file cabinet and a whole kitchen full of cabinets and drawers (including the mother-of-all-junk-drawers). There's more still to do, but I'm making progress!!
Pantry AFTER- notice the labels

What brought all of this on?  Well, I've been temporarily unemployed, and found myself a SAHM with kids at school all day for the first time in well, ever.  So, my "someday" has come.  Organize I must.


Pantry door AFTER









Here are some things I've been learning as I organize:

*Bite off a small piece at a time.  You probably WON'T get your whole pantry cleaned out in one shot, and that's okay. Set yourself a time limit and see how much you can get done.
Love this labeler

*Start with easy projects.  You will feel a satisfaction from completing them that will help you keep going through the bigger ones.


My "junk" drawer.  This,
my friends, is a miracle.
Wish I had a before shot.

Just picture everything 
here, plus more, all
stirred up together
*Labels are your best friends when it comes to organizing.  I got a labeler for about $15 at Walmart and it has served me well.  It helps me, and especially the rest of the crew here at home, put things back where they go past the original organizing. It also makes you feel good about yourself to see everything nicely labeled, lets be honest.

*I sort things into four categories :  keep, throw away, give away, and put away somewhere else in the house.  Organizing experts seem to say that if you haven't used an item in the last year you should get rid of it. Some people say six months is a good enough time frame, but that seems a little extreme to me.


Clear plastic shoe organizer works
great for gloves and hats

*Watch organizing videos on YouTube for motivation as you work.  Peter Walsh has some good tips, as well as a very motivating Facebook page .  There are also MANY blogs, magazines and books devoted to the subject of getting organized, but sometimes I feel like many of them are just trying to sell me things. I mean, the Container Store is great and all, but as much as I might like to I just don't have the money to fill my house with their stuff.

*Be patient with yourself.  I've had time lately to do this that I have never had before.  You may not have this time, and that's okay.  You know what your values and priorities are, live them.  If you do have time, though, fit in a little organizing.  It feels good and helps you not only feel better about things, but also helps you save money because you don't re-buy things you already have just because you can't find them (not that I have EVER done that...).

Re-purposed Ikea shelf
Honestly, that's about it.  My organizing is certainly not "pristine" or "perfect", but its getting better.  And, I have to tell you, it feels pretty awesome to actually be tackling these things.  

Now if only the rest of my house hadn't been totally trashed since I've been sick..... 
Ah reality....


How about you?  What works for you when it comes to organizing?  Any tips I've forgotten?