They’ll Teach You

Oops.

I forgot to do an Autism Post of the Day yesterday. Sorry.

I had a good reason. Okay, I had a few. “But then again, too few to mention…” (Cannot believe I’m having a Paul Anka/Frank Sinatra song on my site…)

Anyway. Part of the reason I wasn’t typing was because I was spending a lot of time listening to my kids.  Mostly my younger son, Medium-Sized Guy.  My older son, in the manner of young men in many places, doesn’t often voluntarily converse with his mother. *smile* But his little brother does and has been doing so an inordinate amount all during Spring Break.

And I finally figured out why this morning.

When things are different in my life, I often ask “What am I supposed to be learning, here?”  God, in his infinite wisdom, teaches all day, every day, and I am doing well if I can learn.  Lately, MSG’s verbosity has had me curious.  But like I said, I figured it out.

He was teaching himself to write a paper.

Now, he didn’t know that was what he was doing.  But I figured it out this morning.

For weeks, I have been trying to get him to understand why he has to write with more detail, the paper he has to write for his school. It is not a big paper – he’s in the fourth grade in an autism/behavioral learning class.  But it does need to be done and I am categorically not allowed to do it for him. Which I get.

But. It’s frustrating.

Today, though, I finally saw the light.  What has been his most prevalent communication all week long?  Video game explanations and tutorials that he has made up himself.  He guides me, the neophyte, into a notional understanding of his gaming universe.  He’s even made an iMovie about it on our computer.

I finally realized that this was how he needed to approach his paper. Treat it as an explanation. Write himself a script – and that will be enough for what is required for the project.  It will teach him something, will teach his readers/teachers something, and will serve as a building block for next time.

Whew! All week, it’s been right in front of my face.  I just wish I had figured it out, sooner.

But we’ve got it, now.

So pay attention to your children, be they neurotypical or not.  They’ll show you how best to work with them.

Have a super Friday!