Connor interactions

When you have an autistic child, you tend to notice things that are considered normal and mundane with gusto.

Example; he came into the bedroom the other day, he looked up and noticed I was looking at him. Unbidden he stated\asked "I have to go to the bathroom"

I responded "Go ahead" and he proceeded into our master bath.

If this had been a typical 10 year old this would be rather ho hum. I mean what is the big deal?

Well, first off, he recognized a non-verbal queue. He viewed my expression as questioning what he was doing there. This is huge for an Autistic, because they can be in their own world and facial expressions are usually ignored or not understood.

His sentence was full and appropriate. He used 'I' instead of 'Connor' and the context was in keeping with the situation. Finally, he waited for my response before taking action. So this was an actual full conversation, full interaction.

I soared a little bit, because that was such a normal everyday interaction, yet something that shows growth and potential in my son. You could see how the same interaction in another house with another father and son would be overlooked, or viewed as mundane. Possibly even annoyance.

In my case it was a moment of joy that I could blog about.