Great Things

Playing with children can be so fun and can reduce your stress level by leaps and bounds. One thing that you must remember while you are playing with children with Autism and Developmental Delays is that they play different than other typical children, most of the time.

I was talking to John on the phone on my way home from work and we were discussing the fact that Trey is sometimes harder to play with than Crockett. While he CAN play games and enjoys playing some group games, sometimes he wants to do things that are either repetitive or things that revolve around him instead of games that can be played with multiple players or that require imagination. An example is this.......Crockett and John were playing with swords and Trey wanted to play but didn't really want to play fight with them. John couldn't understand what he wanted him to do or what it was he wanted to "play" and began to get a little frusterated with Trey. I told John that he should indulge Trey sometimes and not always force him to play the way the typical child plays. So what if Trey wants to rotate in a circle and make weird noises as he does! Do it with him. Rotate in a circle, make weird noises and have him slap hands with you as you do it. It makes a "team" game for him that is fun for him and it is also teaching him how to "play" with other kids while he does something HE wants to do. After I reminded John of our conversation of acceptance of Treys quirks, his whole demeanor changed and Treys little games didn't HAVE to make sense to him. Trey LOVED playing this spinning game with daddy and playing it under his own terms and by the end, Crockett was playing it too and we were all giggling at how silly and somehow fun it was!

John and I have discussed this issue before. We want to make sure that Trey always has the chance to express himself in whatever way he wants to at home. We want home to be a place where he can be comfortable....where he is accepted for who and what he is and not forced to be someone he's not. While we still get frusterated and yes, sometimes angry about his little quirks that can be infuriating at times, we remind ourselves that our acceptance of him AS IS is something that will always make him feel comfortable in his own skin and will help him excel in anything he puts his mind to.

Thinking outside of the box and thinking atypically is what leads to new discoveries and to cures for diseases, among other things. Who ever said that a child that was seemingly challenged in some way doesnt have the cure for cancer somewhere in that special brilliant mind of theirs? Or more ironically, what if my Trey grows up to find the link to curing autism and the thing that made him "different" is the very thing that made him see differently enough to find that cure!?

To those of you that have Autistic children, children with disabilities or for those parents who have typical children with interests and quirks that you don't understand..........ACCEPT THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE, HOW THEY LEARN AND WHAT THEY ARE because one day they are going to do great things!! God placed Trey, just the way he is, in our lives and on this earth for a reason and I am CERTAIN that it is to do GREAT things!