Brotherly Love

There is a creek near our house that is a popular walking spot for families (its wide gravel path can even accommodate those all terrain strollers), people looking for exercise, and pet owners.  Most pets are off-leash which typically isn’t a problem unless of course you have very small children, you have kids who are nervous around dogs or you have owners who let their dogs run amok.  Our boys fall into the second category.        

J2 was in grade 5 or 6 and going for a walk or doing anything, for that matter, with your family wasn’t exactly on his top 10 list of things to do.  It was a beautiful day and rather than have to listen to his mother (excellent decision on his part) he decided to go along with G and R. 

When they got home J2 storms into the house grumbling “I’m NEVER going for a walk with them again!  Talk about embarrassing!!”  I apprehensively asked, “What happened?”  J2:  “It’s dad.  He swore at someone.”  Oish.  Apparently a dog came bounding around a corner and jumped up on R.  The following conversation ensued:

G:         You know, you should really have your dog on a leash.
Lady:    Well I really don’t have to.  It’s an off-leash trail he doesn’t have to be on a leash.

G:         Well that’s not really true.  He has to be under control and he just jumped up on my son who         

            is afraid of dogs and has autism.    

Lady:    Well maybe you should go walk someplace else then.  To which G responded:

G:         Well maybe you should just kiss my A**!

I know I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions when J2 first stormed in the house.  But I did.  I guess the look of relief was pretty obvious to J2 as he asked me “Why?  What did you think happened?”  When I told him I thought maybe something happened with R, he gave me a look like why would I ever think that?!?!? 

Now I’m pretty sure I’m not alone when I say as a parent, we all pretty much know there will be a time when anything and everything we do will cause our kids to be embarrassed.  I wasn’t quite so sure if the same applied to siblings…specifically siblings with special needs.  I realized then, much to my relief, the thought of being embarrassed by R had never crossed J2’s mind even at that age.    

Thank goodness for brothers like J1 and J2!   

Autism as a Second Language

I’ve often heard English is one of the hardest languages to learn.  Having received my first “D” in Grade 9 French…I’m not so sure?!?! 

One of Riley’s biggest challenges is in the area of language/communication which in turn challenges MY language/communication skills.  Oish.    

We were at a playground and I’m thinking R was probably around 4 when we had a conversation that went (as best as I can remember) something like this: 

*Warning: The following conversation contains language which is inconsistent with any therapy.  Use only as an example of what not to say/do. *

Me:       “What are you doing up there?”

R:         “What am I doing up there?”

Me (thinking to myself):  Hmmm…let’s forget about the What and try doing up and down.

Me:       “You’re up there.  I’m down here.”

R:         “I’m up there.  You’re down here.”

Me:       OK…so he seems to have up and down and you and I...just having a little trouble with here and there.

Me:       “Riley can say ‘I’m up here. You’re down there.”

R:         “I’m up here.  You’re down there.”

Me:       Good job Riley!  (YES!  Now let’s switch places and try it again.) 

Me:       “Look Riley.  I’m up here.  Where are you?”

R: (Beaming and looking very proud of himself)    “I’m down there!” 

Thank goodness for SLPs (Speech Language Pathologists)!!!


Think about it...D