Some Things Never Really Change...

There are certain “things” that Riley will probably never outgrow. These “things” may change slightly or be different in some way yet I’m pretty sure will always be there. I will actually go out on a limb here and say “Yes, I think this is due to R’s autism...GASP!” hence my term Riley World. Here are a few examples to give you an idea of how I approached these "things" over the years:

Watching TV:   (Note: Thankfully this was BEFORE flat screen TV's!)
Riley used to like to stand right.in.front of the TV when watching his shows. What started out as tapping things on the screen; moved to full hands on screen; then slapping the screen; to outright banging the screen to the point where he would actually push the TV and we wondered whether or not the glass might break. Seriously…ask anybody who came over in those early years. 

Age 2-1/2:    Pumpkin…you’re going to hurt your hands if you keep hitting the TV.

Age 3:           Riley…please stop hitting the TV.

Age 3-1/2:    Hands down please.

Age 4:           Hands down.

Age 4-1/2:    STOP IT!!!

Watching Movies/DVD's:

Age 3:   Why yes...Disney Sing-A-Long videos are his favourites! He REALLY likes to follow along with the words. 
Age 5:   He LOVES all the Disney movies…especially the Princess ones.

Age 12:  I think we need to move away from Disney/Princess movies and try more age appropriate ones.

Age 17:  Who doesn’t like watching Disney movies? They’re “CLASSICS”!

Easter or any time involving a fictional character:

Age 3:    The Easter Bunny came!  Let's go see what he brought!  Here's your basket.
Age 5:    Look Riley!  Eggs!  Put the eggs in your basket!

Age 12:  What???  You want to look for eggs and put them in a basket???

Age 17:  There is no Easter bunny period…end of story. 

             (OK so I wasn't really THAT harsh but that's what I felt like saying.)

Eating:

Age 3:    He's a little finicky. Surely he will learn to try/like other things as he gets older?
Age 5:    He's a particular eater. Surely he will learn to try/like other things as he gets older?

Age 12:  He has a limited diet. Surely he will learn to try/like other things as he gets older?

Age 17:  He hates pretty much everything!

Riley’s “Idiosyncrasies”:

Age 3:   Ahhhhh...look how adorable he is making faces in his spoon.
Age 5:   It’s cute now but somehow I don’t think it will be so cute if he’s still doing it at 12.

Age 12:  Has he really been doing that for 9 years? 

Age 17:  You wanna try changing/stopping insert idiosyncrasy here?  Go ahead. I dare you!

See…some things never really change…they're only different!   :D