Getting what You want the Autism Way
Another lovely post from Patsy Purdue From The Odd Adventures of Dr. Destructo.
but new parents beware – your kids are going to be experts at it – manipulating your actions and reactions to suit their outcomes. Take a tip from the Doc…….
Over the last few weeks, we have noticed huge improvements in Dr. Destructo. His confidence is growing as his language and understanding improves.
We took on the Great Toilet Training Challenge (GTTC) and while slow, he is showing some promise.
Home Tuition is incredible, I thank my lucky stars every day for his wonderful Tutor. Behaviourly the Doc is still very good except for a recent penchant for clothes removal.
I think the GTTC has piqued his body awareness and he is enjoying the liberation of being naked.
I have followed the advice of one of my Facebook buddies and put his fleecy sleepsuit on with zipper at back.
I feel like some evil genius stroking a cat and saying ‘escape this Dr. Destructo mmmwwwaahaha’.
Dr.Destructo’s autism means that his view of the world is different from mine.
He tends to take a more elaborate route to access what he wants and he is also prepared to play the long game.
A good example of this happened yesterday; the Doc’s bedtime routine consists of two bedtime stories followed by a couple of episodes of the program de jour and then off to bed. The bedtime story started off as a task where he had to listen to it to get his programs.
Now we have a selection of books which he absolutely loves listening to and engages in a way that would have been unimaginable a few months ago.
Over the last few days we have had a very unwelcome but thankfully less frequent visitor, an ear infection, so we have been confined to quarters with the Doc pottering around in nothing but his pullup to keep his temp down.
This, of course, will fuel his new found Naturalist tendencies. He was getting bored and went to his PECS folder and handed me ‘I want…to watch…telly’.
Not that we come from the Industrial School school of parenting but we try to restrict TV to give the Doc as much time as possible to interact with us. I explained to the Doc that telly was not available and he toddled off back to his folder. I heard the wondrous Velcro sound signaling a new sentence and I waited to see what his next request would be. ‘I want…to read…A Squash and A Squeeze’. Mmm interesting.
So I got down the book and we snuggled on the couch. I duly read with my usual repertoire of voices that would put Mario Rosenstock to shame. Turned last page, get the Doc’s approximation of The End and he gives the book a kiss and sits back with a contented sigh. Legs tucked under and eyes focused on the TV screen!
I just laughed and hugged this audacious little creature who has so many issues with things that we take for granted but could show great imagination and understanding to think his way around his problem of not being allowed to watch TV. And it was all so logical, he had listened and engaged enthusiastically with his bedtime story, he had said ‘The End’ and he had kissed the book goodnight, so why wouldn’t the telly be turned on??
Another example happened today. We have been working on getting the Doc to walk beside me holding hands to curb his bolting enthusiasm. We were out walking and I kept reiterating the mantra of ‘hold hands babe’ and things were going well until he decided he really did need to leg it.
He did his usual squirming and wriggling but I held firm. We continued the walking/squirming shuffle for a little bit when he stopped and turned to me. ‘Up’ he said and raised his hands. I dropped his hand to pick him up and with a squeal of delight off he ran.
As I ran after him I realised I had just been Doc’d.
Posted by Patsy xx
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Have you ever been “Doc’d” ?
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