And Counting.

Harri now counts. That's nothing unusual for either NT (neuotypical) or ASD children I suppose. But we had been advised against any kind of counting lessons or games for Harri. I think the concern re. counting and Autistic kids is their propensity for fixations. And numbers are one of those things these kids can become quite adept at, possibly to the detriment of learning in other essential areas. So, accepting this counter intuitive advice, we have not undertaken any numbers play. So it was with some shock that yesterday I heard Harri while jumping on our bed (something he can do endlessly) say 1,2,3,4,5,6.. Now he is no rain man, and I am not saying for a minute he is a mathmatical savant, but where did he pick that up? How has he managed to absorb this information? Was it a Sesame Street episode? And despite the advice mentioned above, I couldn't help but feel proud.

So next week I suppose we will have to discuss with our ABA therapist how to respond to this newfound milestone. My mummy instincts say we should be praising and encouraging his new talent, but I suspect this will not be the advice. Having an ASD kid means throwing out a lot of the old parenting rule book it seems.

His language is also coming along and is slowly revealing a little bossy boots. It's "up" for mommy to carry him, and for daddy the same command is "cuddle". "Eat" is another common word which is self explanatory, and "c'mon Ali" is his instruction to his sister when we are leaving the house. My favourite is "scuseme" which is excuse me. Always used in the right context. Such as yesterday while shopping for beds. He was hurtling wildly through the store, and as he approached another family at maximum speed yelled scuseme as he went past. They were most impressed with his manners.