"Mommy! Sing!" Ciaran loves music with a passion. A trait I am not at all surprised by, considering my classically trained musician parents. This little boy has music in his blood, and has realized that if he can say the names of songs, I can become his personal jukebox.
"Twinkle Twinkle Wittow Stah!" he shouts, "Itsy Bitsy Spider!" The requests keep coming for longer than I'm used to having him interact with me. Finally his attention is caught elsewhere and he runs off to check it out, music forgotten for the moment.
Ciaran has had a mini language explosion. And he is finding that with his words, he can connect. He can tell his mommy what songs he'd like to hear, and she'll sing them. He can tell us he'd like some juice, and we'll get it for him. He's even discovered he can tell me when he needs to use the bathroom. The world is opening up for my son.
I am so blessed that as he discovers his own potential, he chooses to share that excitement with me. I'm grateful that he actually wants to spend time with us, his family. And I'm thankful that he continues to accept our attempts to connect with him. From tickles on the couch and ring-around-the-rosie with his sisters, to his screaming laugh when, I look at him and cross my eyes, he is allowing himself to be a part of things. As his world expands,the connection we've forged is allowing me the opportunity to see things through his eyes. And he sees the world in a unique way. Ciaran may have a permanent neurological disorder, but the son I have is an amazing, both in spite of, and because of, Autism.
Our kids are pretty amazing! We enjoyed doing the same sorts of things with our daughter when she was your son's age. She's not in college (may not ever be), but she is a delight. She goes from singing the Beatles to humming Tchaikovsky to doing a Donna Summer's "Last Dance" duet with me. Who needs an iPod when you have Pamela!
ReplyDelete