Autistic Traits

This is a list of Tyoma's behaviors for future reference.  Some are "autistic" others seem normal.

Hideous Green

So, a few weeks ago I picked up a sample of the green paint that would transform our kitchen into a tranquil oasis for cooking and dining. Foolishly, I primed the sample area with a paintbrush, not realizing that I put the primer on a bit thick. Result: the wall looked like a vertical karesansui garden.

I sanded it before painting with the green, but the underlying texture came through, nevertheless. Not that it mattered, the green totally did not work. Despite my careful color selection, it still looks hospital green. Would you like some appendix with your gazpacho?

In the photo above, Tennisfiend is sanding away the bumpy primer (you can't see his scowl from this angle) so we can begin again. Heh. Anyway, we ordered four new paint samples online, using some suggestions from Papa Sasha plus our own eyeballs. We picked out a lovely pale greenish-yellow which works very well. I didn't dare paint the wall again, so I painted scrap wood and we chose the one that looked best. The new color had better work! I'm going to perish if we have to stick with the yellow!

Happy Halloween!!!

How's this for a jack' o lantern? I wondered what odd little child put this pumpkin picture together when I saw it posted across the hall at the preschool.

Spooky, ain't it?

In response to his jumbled creation, Tennisfiend commented that Tyoma would clearly have no idea how to put a pumpkin face together since he'd never seen one before. I reminded him that Tyoma has been playing with the plastic jack' o lantern on the kitchen table for most of this month. The truth is, our lil' prodigy has a plan. He was clearly inspired by Klee:

You might think that his pumpkin is an homage to Picasso, due to the distorted facial features, but Tyoma is a student of  Expressionism and he favors Klee's color tonalities. 

Coming soon: I justify Tyoma's restricted speech at daycare as "performance art!"

Honk!

We were sorting through Tyoma's "odd box" of strange things that Mom compiled for Tyoma when we came across this winding/drinking horn. My Dad picked it up for me when he was in Russia in the 90's and I'd almost forgotten about it. Since I know that you are giant nerds, just like me, some trivia: an animal horn that's used as a drinking cup is a rhyton. And when used as a bugle it's a shofar (Jewish) or dungchen (Tibetian). :-)

Tyoma’s Progress

The past two weeks have been difficult for Tyoma, primarily because he has been ill. He has missed daycare and been more sensitive and prone to meltdowns. Intense speech therapy was sometimes put on the back burner while I coped with my tearful son. Nonetheless, here’s our progress:

·   Tyoma seems to have great difficulty communicating internal states to us. He does not consistently indicate when he is hungry, thirsty, hot, cold or in pain.  He also uses no words or signs for his emotional states. Recently, he has said “brrrrr!” when cold and will clack his teeth to indicate tooth pain. We are working with him intensely to use gestures (sign) to show hunger/thirst rather than bringing me his cup or booster seat. Since he has been feeling unwell, this has been a major priority and we could really use some good advice.

·        I have been focusing not on the addition of new words (which he accomplishes easily), but the pronunciation of existing words. He has not regained the improved pronunciation that he had when my mom was here. Tyoma typically utters the first syllable of a word and does not bother with the rest. He can, however count to 12 with clarity.

·        Tyoma now completely “gets” the word mine, which is has become a source for meltdowns of late. Auuugh! He also says “where,” but it is unclear if he “gets” the meaning of the word or is just repeating it as part of a game.

·        He uses two word combinations regularly, but is reticent when pressed. He has begun to string together three words; such as “want…bath…open” (open the door to the bathroom). His “I want that!” from a few weeks ago has vanished.

·        Tyoma’s  pronunciation has slipped a bit—he has gone back to good days/bad days. I’d say he has about 20-30 words that he speaks clearly and consistently now. More, star, car, want, pop, no, zoo, white, the numbers 1-12, 23 letters of the alphabet, and a few more I can’t think of as I write this. A definite pattern exists, most of the words are nouns and most of the words relate to things he is profoundly interested in. The rest of his speech is about 25-30%  recognizable to a stranger.

Verbal reports from daycare staff indicate that he continues to do well there, the director commented on “how far he has come” and “how quickly he has adjusted.” I have begun to leave Tyoma for the full four hours so that he can have the experience of sitting and eating lunch with his peers. He is finicky about the food, but otherwise he is adjusting nicely. At home, we have playing social games like chase and hide and seek. Tyoma has been imitating Papa as he rakes leaves and quickly followed Papa’s example in learning how to fall in a pile of leaves. We have also been playing “airplane” with him (where we pretend to be airplanes flying) and he mimics us with gusto. Physical games engage him and bring out cooperative behavior and a few words.

Youtube!

Sure, Tennisfiend and I are midly addicted to youtube! Where else could he possibly watch obscure Russian music videos? How could I keep up with the freakishness that is Julie Masking or catch snippets that I missed from Dancing With the Stars? Seriously!

So, today we took a big leap--we introduced Tyoma to youtube! It's the best thing ever! You can find most of the cool animations from old school Sesame Street! I really don't care for the current politically correct, Elmo imbued program. Give the Cookie Monster his cookies! Let Oscar be a bastard! Etc, ect... Anyway, I'm going to embed two really psychedelic videos, just for nostalgia's sake! I dare Nickelodeon to match this!

Hi 62!

For about a week now, Tyoma has been greeting his numbers with a small, friendly wave and a cheerful “Hi!” I sigh and grimace every time I hear it. I used to relish his odd little moments, finding his eccentricity charming--now I shudder. Every quirk makes me wonder if the Autism Spectrum Police are going to break down the door and haul my son off to a Neurotypical Re-education Camp.

As I cleaned up from breakfast today, I had the Weather Channel on in the background. The murmur of the forecasters is more comforting than CNN and I feel soothed by the mindless jazz that plays when the Local on the 8’s comes on. Tyoma likes the Local on the 8’s, too, since the numbers are big and bold.

He hustled over to the TV when the  8’s began their  broadcast. The announcer stated, “Sunny, today with some cloudy intervals. High 62…” Tyoma perked up. “Hi! Siz-ooo!!!” He tapped the 62 on the TV screen. I laughed. It’s still odd and the Autism Spectrum Police are probably around the corner nonetheless, but his little greeting seems less inexplicable and certainly very funny.

Speech Therapy

Tyoma’s Progress

·        Tyoma consistently uses about 50 words each day. He continues to add new words quickly and has been learning positional adjectives, exclamations and more verbs.

·        Although he has successfully said a few words with multiple syllables, his frequency of correct pronunciation has dropped off.  

·        Tyoma is beginning to understand more personal pronouns such as “me,” and “mine,” but he uses them infrequently. He seems to be a bit confused between “your” (as in “Show me your nose.”) and “my” (“Show me my nose.”).

·        He uses two word combinations several times a day and has even said “I want that!” a few times.

·        Tyoma’s  pronunciation is about the same—some improvement on  his more familiar words while about 25-30% of his regular speech could be understood by a stranger.

·        While looking at books, Tyoma has started talking to himself, naming objects in the book and even describing simple activities taking place. As I read to him, he continues his descriptions, and is delighted to count and make animal/vehicle noises.

·        Tyoma is grasping the concept of time. He can ask for five more minutes of a favorite activity and understand that story time is for thirty minutes.

Things have leveled off speech-wise for Tyoma the past two weeks.  Although he has not made any extraordinary language advancements, he has made tremendous progress socially at day care. He is more cooperative, friendly and engaged than ever before. In fact, we have just upped his attendance by one day a week!  He has begun to play more imaginatively and creatively, adding more words in the process.  

Hasta La Vista Ugly Border!

In case you haven't seen a close up of the hideous wallpaper border in our kitchen, here it is:
 
I personally do not care for the border, but what makes it completely distasteful is its pairing with mustard yellow paint, pickled oak cabinets, and forest green counter tops. Blah!

 So, with no regrets and only a smidge of nostalgia, I tore the border down today. After surfing online and consulting with the color experts at Home Depot, I will try a greenish paint to make the green countertops look like less of a mistake. Wish me luck!

Ogunquit Vacation

We took an overnight vacation to Ogunquit, Maine while Mom was here to sit with Tyoma overnight. I can't tell you how very nice it was to have some quality time together. I do have a little write up to go with this, but I'll post it later. For now, here's some pics...