Bed time.

Everyone has a bad day every now and then. Some of us have bad days more than others, while some of us have good days more than others. I wonder some times how the big guy views his day, if he thinks they are good or bad, or just so so.

Sometimes the big guy thinks I'm mean when I say things like "it's time guys" which means it's bed time. At the same time, the little guy has also said I'm being mean when I say that. The big guy told me tonight (
Sunday the 10th ) "you mea daddy" when I said it was time.

Everyone has a bad day every now and then. Some of us have bad days more than others, while some of us have good days more than others. I wonder sometimes how the big guy views his day, if he thinks they are good or bad, or just so so.

Sometimes the big guy thinks I'm mean when I say things like "it's time guys" which means its bed time. At the same time, the little guy has also said I'm being mean when I say that. The big guy told me tonight (Sunday the 10th) "you mea daddy" when I said it was time.

I really do think in his mind I am being mean on purpose, like I'm honestly trying to ruin his fun time. I don't want to be a mean daddy, but bed time is bed time. I don't want to be a bad daddy, but when it's time to do something I try to make it as easy as I can on him, but sometimes he gets really mad at me for it. Sometimes he goes to bed easy, other times he has a big problem with it and does not want to go to bed. 

School let out a while ago for summer, so mom and I were trying a new thing where we would just let him go till he fell out and crashed. Our idea (her idea really) was he would sleep later in the morning because he went to bed so late at night. During the school year we have tried to have him in bed by 8pm or 9 pm, that way he would have enough sleep to get up and go to school. So 7am would come along and mom would end up dressing him while he was sleeping because he didn't want to wake up, then on the weekends he would be up at 6am or 6:30. It was like he knew he didn't have to go to school, so he wanted to get to playing as soon as possible to get in as much as he could for the day. 

So a few nights last week he stayed up till 11:30 one night, 12:00 another night, and about 10 or so another night, but that did not translate to later mornings, as most mornings he was still up at 6 am, and one morning sooner. So it has been confirmed, he knows he does not have school, so he's getting up early because of it. I'm telling you, I have a six year old teenager. 

So now after the experiment he has gone back to having a "normal" bedtime, roughly 8 or 9 pm. At least this way he will have more than just 6 or 7 hours of sleep. We will just have to deal with him getting up early. It's not so bad, I used to do it when I was his age, I just hope he doesn't feed the fish like I did when I was around his age, I don't think the fish would like to eat mayo, ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper and a whole host of other condiments. 

I know it's just a kid thing; the little guy gets up early also, sometimes really early. So I guess it's OK, we will just have to have early mornings while he's out of school. I wonder if I tell him he has school in the morning if he would sleep in......hmmm... I wonder.

So, is your kid an early riser?

The restaurant effects everyone.

We went out to dinner, and it didn't go so well. The big guy was OK, but he had a few issues.

So mom got a few free coupons to chili's, and we went. The little guy was really good, and he was even flirting with a waitress, which was hilarious, and the big guy had the iPad. That is where the problems started.

As I've said in my earlier posts, he has a new iPad. We got him the WiFi only model as it was cheaper, and we would't have to have a data plan for it, just buy it outright. A while back I unlocked YouTube on his iPad, and yeah I know that may be a little dangerous because he may watch something we don't want him to watch, but that has not happened yet.

What has happened is he started watching videos about Super Mario 64 on it, which I find awesome. He is totally enthralled with the videos because they are game play videos, so it's as if he is playing the game, but not having to do anything. I thought it was cute at first, but now I really do not like it.

Anyone with an autistic child will know how they can focus on something to the point of killing it. He has killed this. Now if you don't know about YouTube you've probably been in prison since 2004, but if you watch a video it buffers before you can watch it, but once it has finished buffering and you don't look for a new video you can actually pull the slider back and watch the video again as many times as you want.

Herein lies the problem.

So we got to chili's and everything was fine, the video he had watched at the house was still on the device because it is a 20 minute video. Once we were there he decided to watch a different video, which did not happen. That is when he started having a problem. He loved the southwestern egg rolls, but did not want any of his real dinner (that's OK cuz it was free). Once he found out he couldn't find any more videos the big guy started having problems, getting mat at mom and I, trying to bite mom, screaming, and just generally being mad.

This wasn't a meltdown, just being mad that he can't watch any more videos. The bigger problem is both mom and I have an iPhone, and YouTube on our phone, but he did not want to deal with that at all. I think he didn't want to deal with it for two reasons. The first reason I think he had a problem with watching the videos on mom's phone is the size of the phone, it is a bit small. The second reason is YouTube has a different format on the iPhone as opposed to the iPad and because he's so visually oriented, it bothers him to see YouTube is a different way.

Ether way, we left in a bit of a hurry, he did eat, though probably not as much as I would have liked. He did not have a full on meltdown, though he was crabby. The one thing that was really cute, he was so tired when we were sitting in the booth, and I think that has some to do with the way he was acting.

I'm going to lock YouTube out on the iPad again and I know this will make him mad, but I don't like to see him so passive with the iPad. The apps he has designed for autism are engaging, and the games he plays he is also engaged with. It's just when he's watching things on it I don't like, I feel like he's zoning out and not participating, just letting things happen.

 I don't want to look like the bad guy or anything, but I do want him to interact with things, not just sit and let them happen passively. I just feel like he's not learning like that.You think limiting his passive video watching is mean?

Should you teach your autistic child to swim?

As far back as I can remember my family has always gone swimming. It was ether at a lake, a community pool, my grandmother’s apartment complex, the beach in California, almost anywhere. My siblings and I always had a blast, and we never tired of it.

During the summer it was our thing to do, what I didn't realize is it never cost anything. Yeah it would cost the money it took to pay for gas to drive there, or maybe the money for sandwiches while we were there (most of the time we had a huge bowl or grapes and cherry's to eat by the pool), but honestly, that's not very much.

So swimming is a cheap form or entertainment. It's also a great form of exercise. What's better than kids getting outside and expelling load of energy, especially with all the digital distractions we have today.

OK, so now we have a cheap, good source of exercise, and it gets me off the couch also, so that can't be bad. Then we have the "life skill" aspect. I don't know anyone who does not know how to swim, or at the very least, no one has ever told me they don't know how to swim. I want my son to know how to swim, even if it's only doggy paddle. I think this is something he will need to know.

So last year my wife got one of the small pop-up pools. The pool isn't very big, about four feet high, and 12 feet around, and we sent it up. He loves it, and everyone else likes to have fun in it. We set it up again this year, and we have used it a few times, but he hasn't learned to swim yet, and I don't expect him to for a while.

The little guy hasn't learned to swim ether, but that's OK, I didn't learn to actually swim until I was about 6 myself. The little guy is our water baby; the big guy on the other hand will always do what he wants. There have been times we've had to get out because the big guy has decided he was done swimming after only a half hour. The thing that worries me about the big guy is he has gone under before, and I don't want that to scare him out of anything to do with water.

When he goes under, and it has only been for a second, he does not want to have anything to do with the pool anymore. I know it's scary for a regular child, but for an autistic it must be horrifying. It takes so long to get him to want to go back in the pool after going under, even days later, so I just let him work it through, and he usually comes around and wants to have fun more than he fears going under water again.

So I will go slowly at teaching him how to swim and the little guy as well. Though I do want him to know, I'll let him learn in his own time. Once he does learn, I think we will go up to a larger size pool, till then, we will stay with the 4 footer.

Would you teach your autistic child to swim? How would you go about it?

WHHH-aa-TTT, as in What?

So for a little while now I have been going over "words" with the big guy. It’s fun, I love it, and when we do this I feel as if we are the only two people in the world.

We will go over his "words" when he goes to bed, and tonight is the first night I've had the chance to do it in a week. I usually get the little guy in bed first, give him hugs and kisses, then off to the big guy. I get him all ready for bed, turn off his "TT" (his name for the TV) and lay him in bed, cover him up, give him his bumpy (his bumpy is his actual bumper from his crib, he's had the thing since he was born) and then I ask him if he wants to  do his words. No matter how much of a fuss he is putting up about going to bed, he always says yes. 

The first word we do every time is the word "what". The first time he says this word it comes out as "waa". I have to put a lot of emphasis on the "wh" the "a" and the "t", and then he will say it back to my the same way. We do all the "W" words first; what, where, when, why, but I don't put in who or how, they have different beginning sounds, and I don't want to confuse him.

These are not the only words we practice, we also do "ear" "fun" "phone" and a number of other words that have the same beginning sounds. His speech lady gave us a number of different pages that have words on them, so we also do words like "firefighter" and this word he says in the cutest way. It's like he whispers it, like it's so awesome he can only whisper the word. 

This is not the only word he says in a strange way, he says fire the same way by whispering it. He says the word fish really quick, but also with a swishing type of sound. He says the word ear almost like hear. This makes me wonder about how he thinks about words. I have read a little off Temple Grandin's book "Thinking in Pictures", (That link is really cool because it’s all the first chapter plus added material, go and check it out). I think the way he is thinking about the words is almost like the word will carry the action within the pronunciation, or the word will carry the feeling along with the pronunciation, which is really cool.

So the word "fire" carries with it the awe it inspires, the fear it conveys, and dancing magic it inspires. The word "firefighter" carries much of the same feelings, but also carries with it heroism, duty, honor, and strength. If this is true, it’s totally awesome. When we talk to each other, I mean us "normal" people; our words don't carry so much with them.

I will explain to you that a house caught on fire, the house was burning down, and firemen came and put the fire out. You will most likely think of this is a detached way, "just the facts ma'am". If I tell the big guy the same thing it is totally different. When the big guy hears the same story, it's more like this "Awesome, damaging, fearful fire was destroying a home. Then bravery, honor, strength and duty appeared upon the scene to do battle with the flames. After a heated battle, with very heroic moments, honor prevailed and beat back the fearful destructive flames". 

That sounds so much more fun than the "just the facts ma'am" explanation.

Dr. Big Guy and MR. Hyde

So you all know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, basically two personalities in one person. One personality is of the respectable upstanding Dr. Jekyll, and the other personality is of Mr. Hyde, who does despicable things.

I named this post similarly because of the totally different personalities the big guy has for different situations. His teacher and teachers' aid have read my blog and have laughed about how I have described him differently when he is at home; you see.... he is Dr. Jekyll when he is at school, but Mr. Hyde at home. I bet many of you are laughing or at least smiling right now, but it's true. He is totally different in almost every situation.

When we had him diagnosed in June of 2010 my wife and I had been separated for seven months. I would get the boys every other weekend, and things were different when I had them, so different in fact that when we went to the big guys’ assessment the doctors gave me a separate assessment sheet to fill out. One of the things my wife said he did when he was with her was bang his head on things when he didn't get what he wanted, he tried it once with me, and I told him no, sent him to his room, and then went and talked to him after about 5 minutes, which is lifetime to a child, and he never tried doing that again with me.

Another way he was different at my house is he would sit at the table and try to eat his dinner, lunch, or breakfast with utensils, even though he had a hard time. He would always have the same bedtime while at my house, 8 o'clock, and he would be asleep in ten minutes.

This is totally opposite from being at moms. At mom's house, he would hit his head on the floor or wall when he didn't get what he wanted, dinner time was usually a finger food affair, if he ate, and bet time was a long drawn out ordeal that would last from 8 pm to sometimes 10 pm or later most nights.

This is not the only times he acts differently. He acts differently at a restaurant than at home, and differently at different restaurants. He acts differently at Nana's house than at home with mom, different at school and home, different with each of the therapy people he sees during a given week (though he really loves his speech lady).

So this brings me to the meat of my post, how he is at home. 

I feel so badly for the little guy because he takes the brunt of the Mr. Hyde attacks, and I think I know why. For the longest time, everything was his, his TV, his toys, his mommy, his daddy, his everything. Then mom went away for a week (the little guy was premature and spent a week in the N.I.C.U.) and came back and had something else that would scream for her attention. 

Mr. Hyde is so viscous with the little guy. Just last night he slammed him into the bed room door, smacked him in the face, scratched him on his back, and hit him on his back. All because he wanted to watch what he wanted on mom's computer. The only real way we have to control this is to keep them separate. Most of the time the big guy is in his room watching TV and eating his dinner. The little guy is usually in the living room watching TV there. We do other things, like go out in the back yard and play, or swim, go to the park, what have you, and in all these places the big guy acts differently. 

What we were told during his assessment in Dallas is that it is not at all uncommon for a child with autism to act completely differently in any setting, to the point that parents wonder if the child has split personality or something. We know he doesn't have split personality, we know he's the same big guy no matter who is around, where we are or what we are doing. 

This makes me think he's more real about things than us "normal" people are. When we go to work we act one way, we are different with different friends or family members, and when we are out in public we act self-consciously. Most of the time though, we don't show people that we don't like them, we act in a civil manner, and mumble as we walk away, so we really aren’t very truthful with others.

So we may be "normal" but he is truthful. We pretend most of our lives, while he will tell you exactly how it he feels about something. While this isn't particularly good in some cases, you'll never think he's lying to you, if he likes you, he will let you know, and if he doesn't..... Well, be ready for his Magneto claw. 

More on the iPad

I haven't posted in a few weeks, we have all been busy, the big guy especially, so I thought I'd post again about the iPad.

I talked before about game apps the big guy has played, and I'll talk more about them later because I think they help so much with fine motor control, but I really want to post about how he behaves with the iPad now.

The big guy has about 16 or 18 apps to help him learn. Apps matching sounds to letters and letters to letters, apps tracing letters, color matching apps and apps for communication. All of them are very helpful and easy for him to use because the objects on them are nice and big. Here's the thing though, he plays what he wants, and we cannot force him to do anything he doesn't want to do because he knows exactly how to control this amazing device.

You should see when he first gets it, it’s totally cute. He knows the pass code to unlock the iPad, we don't have to open it for him, and if the little guy wants to play we have to unlock it. When he opens it, he says the code while he's typing it in, and it is awesome to hear him say the numbers because he says them so cute. When we sent him to school with the iPad his teacher sent mom a text asking her for the pass code to unlock the iPad. It was funny because mom didn't tell her the code; she sent a text back to the effect of "did you ask him? He knows what it is" and his teacher sent one back along the lines of "we didn't even think of that". Needless to say, he taught someone something that day.

Most days when he gets home he will get the iPad, and he decides what he wants to do. Some days he plays Where's my Water, other days he wants to play Plants vs. Zombies, but other days he will play an app about numbers. This app, I'm sorry but I don't remember the name of it, is all about putting an item in the right place. The app gives the option of using shapes, numbers letters and a few other items I can't remember. I have tried to have him use some of the other items, but he likes the numbers for some reason. The numbers are moved along on a little train on the screen, and one of the numbers is missing. At the bottom of the screen he is given an option of three different numbers to fit in the spot. He always gets it right, and that's awesome.

The iPad

A little while ago we got the big guy a New iPad, all I can really say is, AWESOME.

I know some people will look at something like an iPad as just a gaming device, or something to surf the web and check their email, and they are right, for the most part, but there's more. Many apps have been made for the iPad for teaching, communication, and to help increase fine motor control.

To be honest, the first app he fell in love with was Talking Tom Cat 2. This is a freemium app, where the app is free and fully functional, but extra content and functionality are unlocked with an in app purchase, so you don't pay for the app, but you pay for the extras. I'm sure everyone who reads this knows of apps like this, and probably has a few on their own phone.

Anyway....... so this Talking Tom Cat 2, all it does is record what you say, or sounds it hears, and repeats this with in a funny voice. This thing annoys the crap out of me, I cannot stand hearing everything I say, or what other people say, repeated right afterwards, but he LOVES the thing.

It was so cute the first night he had the thing because he was laying on the couch, had the app going, the iPad laying on the couch next to him, and his arm wrapped around it like it was his best friend. Everything he said, it said, so when he was happy with something, so was his friend, and when he was sad about something, so was his friend. It was like watching someone with his best friend, and they agreed on everything. This is just amazing, I mean, just think about it, he has finally found someone who understands him and not only that, this same someone TOTALLY agrees with him, no matter what. Gotta love it.

Another app that I love playing, and the big guy and the little guy love as well is Where's My Water. The boys just love this app, mom and I do also, but there is an underlying reason I love watching them play this app. The fine motor control needed to play the game.

 The whole basis of the game is to get water to an alligator who wants to take a bath. The challenge is doing this through multiple obstacles while also getting the little yellow duckies and finding little objects buried in the dirt around the levels. If you haven't played this game, check out this video.

I have let the little guy and the big guy play the game on my phone, but I haven't played the version they have on the iPad, and to my knowledge mom hasn't ether, and they have gotten to the second or third act on the game. This is a four year old and a five and a half year old, and to be honest, some of the levels are not easy. I have had to sit and think about how to get everything to work correctly so I get all the water to the alligator. I have also Tri-Ducked each act, but I don't expect them to do that.

Just think of that though, when you play some of the levels, very precise controls are needed to get things to go the way they need to complete the levels. I have paged through what they have played, and I just blown away how well they are getting through the game. I know the little guy gets really into it, he almost does the Schroeder thing where he sticks his tongue out while trying to do something, which is cool and cute, but I'm totally fascinated when I watch the big guy play the game. His movements don't seem like they will clear the dirt correctly, or at the right time to get through the level, but then they do, it's weird. When I see he's using his index finger to get things done it makes me very happy as well, because of his fine motor control issues he often uses his thumb the way we would use our index finger, so to see him using his finger in this way shows me he is gaining more control over his body.

I have much more to say about the iPad, but I will keep this post short so as not to bore you.

If you have a child with autism, or even just motor control issues, get them an iPad, it will help, even if they are just playing games, just remember there are other apps for learning and teaching, and I'll talk about them later.

Fine Motor Control

One of the things we adults take for granted is our ability to manipulate small items with awesome dexterity. We only start seeing our ability to function in this way decline as we reach an older age, some people it's about 45 or so, some people it's not until he or she is in her 60's.

When were young, like 20's and 30's, we have no clue how important this is for everyday life. Another time we don't realize how important these motor skills are is when we are really young, like when we are 6 and 8 years old.

So this brings me to the meat of my post, occupational therapy.

I've gone over the different types of therapy the big guy does during the week, ABA, Speech, and occupational therapy, but have I think I've really only talked about the first two, not the last one. The first one helps him to behave a certain way, or as closely as he can to "normal" people (who still won’t push in their own chair when leaving the table), The second one does and will help him communicate with those "normal" non-pushing in chair people who, for some reason think he's weird when they are the ones think their social status is determined by the clothes they wear, or cars they drive. The third will help him live, and I'll explain why.

Have you ever been hungry? I know, you’re probably looking down at your belly and thinking "well, yeah, duh" but what I mean is, have you ever been HUNGRY. Every one of us has a refrigerator in our home that is stuffed full of things we might want to eat, did eat and didn't finish, or can eat if we wanted, but the big guy looks at the same fridge and only sees a few things he CAN eat.

I don't say "can" because he has allergies to food, because we haven't seen any yet, I say "can" because he has a hard time just getting the food to his mouth. We, as "normal" people find eating an easy, quick, and something we never really think about, but I'm sure it's a chore for him. Let’s take mac and cheese as an example, he can eat it, and he loves it....if it’s in a bowl with a spoon. I cannot put this item on a plate and give him a fork. I have before, but I will end up having to help him get a good mouth full, but I won’t have to do as much for the little guy, and he's only a little older than 4.

I can see when the big guy is hungry, and I mean that real hungry when you just need to get something in your stomach, and though you know you’re not going to die; you just have to get something in there to stop the feeling. When I see him like this, something like mac and cheese on a plate with a fork will not do, it has to be something he can get to his mouth and something he can easily eat. So a hot dog, a corn dog, and pudding cup, or a bowl of cereal, but never something difficult for him to manipulate.

This is why occupational therapy is so important.

He hasn't had occupational therapy for a while, but he has been approved to start anew. So soon he will have to make room in his busy schedule for another person to come and help him advance his skills. I can't wait to see how far he goes with this, and I really hope he likes the lady then send (kind of funny, they all seem to be lady's) because he wasn't too thrilled about the first lady he had. He did well with her, but nothing like his speech lady, and many times the whole family would have to participate in his occupational therapy for him to complete the action, I think he didn't see a point in the stuff otherwise.

I can only hope things will go smoothly... we shall see.

The Climber

One thing many people don't understand about autism is the way things affect a person with autism.

Sounds, sights, taste, touch, smells..... Almost everything, even the temperature of a room changes the way a person with autism will behave. Even the colors of the walls of a room have an effect an autistic person’s behavior. Just a few months ago I read about a presentation of The Lion King on Broadway that was changed to be autism friendly. I was really excited about this, though I know I won’t see anything like that near me for quite some time. The reason I was excited about this production, and why it is so important, is people other than parents are starting to take into account how exposure to sensory stimulus we think is normal, can really drive an autistic up the walls.... literally.

The big guy deals with sensory problems in his own way. Some of them are funny, like when a song is playing on the radio or the TV, he gets really mad if you sing along. He got so mad at me the other day when I was singing one of the songs from the fresh beat band commercial on TV. At first he screamed at me, and then he ran off to his room, and slammed the door. I know I'm going to get comments about how my singing is so bad it makes children run and cry, but I don't think that's it. I think it’s from sensory problems; maybe not that it hurts his ears or anything, but that it makes him confused to hear the same thing coming from two different locations. I think it confuses him, but much more than you or I have ever been confused before in our life. That's got to be hard on him.

One of the things he does that is very cute is when he gets excited about a TV show. First I must set the stage for you, he is naked (because his just is when he's at home), he is right next to the TV, and he starts doing this shaking thing, and his butt cheeks just juggle. As a parent, that's just the funniest thing in the world, and the more excited he gets, the more he jiggles. I think it has to do with the level of excitement, he really cannot contain himself.

Then one of the weird things he does, he climbs on the couch. Not only does he climb on the couch, he goes all over the furniture, and this isn't something I can stop. I know many parents of "normal" children would say "well, a swift kick in the butt will stop that" and I may for their children, but it's not the same for parents of autistic children, and I want my children to love me, not fear me like a dictator. So what the big guy does, he topples over the recliner, and I think a few of you have seen that on my facebook page. If not, to explain, he stands up in the seat, his back to the back of the recliner, and rocks it until it fall backwards, and he rides it all the way down. It’s a fun game for him, and then he will stand up on the foot rest, which is now up in the air, and proceed to climb all over everything but the coffee table.

He always starts at the chair, and makes his way around to the end table, over to the couch, onto the other end table, and ends at the love seat. If you happen to be standing by the love seat, you giving someone a piggyback ride, if you wanted to or not. I don't think this is the same kind of excitement he has with other TV shows, and he mostly does this with action oriented TV show. I think with action shows, he has this need to physically move around, not run, but other stuff. I think he has to let this energy out in some way, and I think this is why he HAS to climb. It’s like when you go to a club and hear a song you have not heard in years, and you just really want to get on out there and dance, you just got to move!!! Well, I think that's how it is for the big guy, he gets this energy inside, and his body is telling him the only way he can get it out without exploding is to climb, move, jump, and topple the recliner.

So from all of that, you must know, the furniture is in a sad state of repair, I think we may have to put it out to pasture, its paid its dues and then some.

Hesitation

My son has trouble communicating, and so he has trouble telling us when he is mad, sleepy, sad, hungry, and many other things.

When he gets mad he will try to hurt you in any way possible. Some time he will hit, sometimes he will pinch, the worst one is when he bites.

He has bitten me on the shoulder before, I can't even remember why, but he drew blood, broke the skin and I still have a small mark in the shape of a tooth. He doesn't just try to bite me, on occasion he will go after the little guy, or rarely mom, but when he decides to go after you anything is free game.

This brings me to my point.

About a week and a half ago we all went to the store for stuff for dinner, salad stuff or something, I can't remember what now. Everything was good, as usual when I take the big guy to the store, until we were about to leave, that's when he gets mad. He wants to go to the toys, but we don't have the time or money for that, and on comes the meltdown.

So being the best dad I can be I offer to take him out to mom's car so he can have his meltdown in private, away from the unintelligent stares of the heard of wild and uneducated Wal-Mart hicks, who's first response would be "Tan his backside, it'll do'em som gud!!".

While I was walking out, holding him close to my chest in like a bear hug type thing, he was screaming, hitting me, trying to pinch me, and then his mouth found my cheek. Yup my son bit me in the face, and I was happy about it.

I know that sounds horrible, but keep reading, it's actually awesome.

My son had a good section of my cheek in between his teeth, and one good chomp would have created a hole in my cheek and probably would have let everyone see my teeth. That didn't happen though. He was mad, kicking and screaming, with my cheek in his mouth...... but I FELT him hesitate. He did bite me, but it was as if he understood that idea that if he were to chomp down with all his might he would have hurt me very very bad.

I was ecstatic, this is an abstract thought, or I think it is, where he put together an idea (biting me) with a possible outcome (a giant hole in my face) and decided against it. Usually his idea, as far as I see them, are only cause and effect, turn on a switch and the light comes on, open the fridge and food is inside. If the power is out he doesn't understand that turning on a switch will not make the light come on.

Now I don't have any other reason to believe he strung together the abstract thoughts like that other than the hesitation I felt in him when he bit my cheek, but I want to believe it is true because that open so many possibilities. He may start getting the idea that a kite won’t fly without wind, or that momma can't come home right now because she's still working, and this may very well help him to not get as angry about things. I don't know, but I can always hope.....