It's a fact.

I share a lot of facts on my blog about autism.
I know it probably gets a little boring to most.
I find that I share the unfortunate things too much.
This post is about some fun, funny, and beautiful things about my boy.


FACT:

Christopher loves any kind of commercial, especially infomercials.

A lot of that you can contribute to his Asperger's.
Asperger children are extremely interested in facts since their worlds can be pretty confusing.

So, he will believe any commercial or infomercial known to man.

You say it's a fun toy - he will believe it.

You say it tastes great - he will believe it.

You say that knife can cut through concrete - he will believe it.

The other day I was discussing something with Davin and I said "How would I find a babysitter for all those days?"

Christopher casually walks into the room, looks up at me and says "Don't worry mom. Just use Care.com. They have lots of people to help you. Anyone you need. Babysitter, whatever."

Davin and I laughed and laughed. He is a walking commercial. He should be getting paid for this stuff.

The other day he was so excited about an infomercial he came running in our room to tell us. He was so excited he could barely get the words out. "There's . . . a . . . . chainsaw . . . on . . . tv. It's awesome! It can cut through a whole tree. We need that."

FACT:

Kids with Asperger's have a unique gift in being able to look past a person's appearance to the real person.
They are accepting of everyone.
Of course, this could be dangerous. Stranger danger is a difficult lesson to teach :).

I teach young children at my church.
This year I have Christopher's age group.
In our class we have a pretty severely handicapped boy.
My teaching partner and I take turns taking care of him while the other teaches.
The children are nice to him, but are understandably afraid of the noises he makes and of his strange actions.
Christopher has no fear of people with handicaps.
The first day we had him in class I was holding him and Christopher rushed up to him, gave him a hug and said "Oh, he is so cute."
The other children pull away when this boy tries to grab them. Christopher pulls this boy to him to give hugs.

Christopher attends a therapy facility that I have mentioned in previous posts.
They have group therapies and they are exposed to children with a whole range of developmental and physical problems.
Most children would feel pretty overwhelmed in such an environment.
To Christopher, they are all just people. Friends.
He was talking about a little girl the other day and I was trying to picture who she was.
I asked him "What is she like?"
He thinks for a minute. "Well, she is nice. She's really good at coloring. She has a Dora the Explorer backpack."
I say "No. What does she look like?"
He says "Oh. Hmmm. Well, I don't know. She doesn't have any legs."
I'm always so amazed by this unique ability.
What if we were all this way?
What a beautiful, accepting world this would be.



FACT:

Asperger children are never afraid to say what they are thinking. They always tell the truth. ALWAYS.
Sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing :)
Other times it is just cute and funny.
Christopher loves his kindergarten teacher.
LOVES her.
He draws her pictures. He tells her that he loves her all the time. He will announce it in class.
One day someone asked Christopher who his teacher was.
"Oh, her name is Mrs. ---- and she has beautiful golden hair and I love her."



If only I was so brave to tell people I love them. Tell people I appreciate them. Tell people I think they are terrific.


FACT:

I love my boy.
He is a beautiful person and everyone who comes in contact with him immediately senses that.
I would love to be more like him.