The humorous side of the spectrum

[Rae Kridel]

Chriss sent a message asking if anyone is interested in sharing anecdotes on the humorous side of living with someone on the spectrum. I just had a meeting with a couple of clients yesterday and even though I've done their design work for over two years, they didn't realize that my son was diagnosed. I shared some of the exasperating things (communication, potty training, being hit and kicked when he's frustrated) but also shared some of the odd things he does. They said that it's great that I can laugh about it, but I said that why should I feel sorry for myself because my kid isn't "normal." He is what he is, he's gorgeous, he's brilliant, he's mischievous and funny, I couldn't possibly love him any more than I do, but he's just a little weird from time to time.

Are others ok with this? I know that the popular view is that autism is a disease to be cured, eradicated, banished to the musty pages of medical history books, but I'm beginning to think otherwise. Maybe everyone on here can start by letting us know why they are on this list.

[Emily Sutherland]

This is great. My son was diagnosed at 11 with Asperger's Syndrome - and that was just three months ago. He's high-functioning and has compensated pretty well but something just wasn't right. Just before he was diagnosed his math teacher called me to say that he had made a puppet and was distracting kids with it during math class. She couldn't figure out why he couldn't stop doing the puppet show, even after she asked him to put it away. When she called, I was reminded that my son had seen a ventriloquist comedy act over the weekend and he was reciting lines from that comedy show. She couldn't believe he was doing that in class... my son couldn't believe she would have a problem with it... and I couldn't believe he could remember almost the entire routine after hearing it just once! It's his way of being funny... too bad he had to try it in the middle of math.

[Rae Kridel]

Fun with echolalia! My husband, who has a few minor traits of being on the spectrum, also does echolalic things. His family called it "the broken record" and I call it "random access memory." When he's comfortable and unguarded, old comedy routines, lines from movies, you name it comes out. I joke him that when he's around The Straights, the facade of normalcy goes up and they just see the confident, brilliant guy that he is. But when he gets home, all the bottled up "dialogue" just tumbles out all over me.

With my son, who is still learning to talk, it's bits from Bob the Builder, Sesame Street or Blue's Clues videos, as well as songs he learns in school and phrases he's picked up from who knows where. He sometimes talks in his sleep so in the middle of the night, I'll hear "Can we build it? Yes we can! Yeah, I think so." from his room.

The game my husband I play is, when my son does something really odd, we'll laugh, look at each other, shake our heads and go "He's yours." "No, he's yours." "Yeah, I don't think so. It's all your fault." "No way man, it's all you."

[Chriss Gregor-Maxwell]

When my son is doing something really annoying and my husband is getting frustrated with him, I sometimes turn to him and say "Hey, I think he might have Autism!" like it just occurred to us....it breaks the tension and makes us laugh, and reminds us that non-stop echolalia is just part of it.
On the other hand, a kid that wants to take a picture with a live frog on his head is pretty amusing...:)

[Chriss Gregor-Maxwell]

This is why I now hate Caillou and DragonTales- my broken record son is stuck on a few episodes! And don't get me started on that dammed Hungary Caterpillar! You just have to laugh some times....

[Rae Kridel]

Shaye just got into Bear in the Big Blue House, so he's started singing the songs from the few episodes we have. But the exclamations of "Bear!" and "Tutter!" are pretty funny.

[Chriss Gregor-Maxwell]

I love Tutter! The Bear and the Big Blue House helped us potty train...
On another note, Everett is wearing one of my favorite t shirts today. it says "Autistic doesn't mean I draw well...but I do!"
I got it on a web site called zazzle.com. They have great shirts you can customize. I have one that says in little letters across my chest "beats you staring at my kid's autism" because I have a chest that makes a nice billboard.

[Rae Kridel]

We're still working on potty training. We have the Elmo video on it, and he loves it and the songs on there, but so far, it's made little impact. I requested the Bear in the Big Blue House Potty Time video from the library, and just got a notice that it's ready for pick up. I hope it helps more than Elmo did. I'm soooooooo ready to stop buying pull ups.

[Chriss Gregor-Maxwell]

Now onto potty training- a discussion unto itself! So it took me from age two to age four to potty train my now seven year old. I am pretty proud he was trained before age 5 because it is tough for our ASD kids. I think the real break thru for Everett was a really thorough picture schedule, partly hand drawn by one of his special ed teachers, who yes, drew a "turd" and water drops for pee pee. Anyway, I think that is when he really got the idea that you pulled down your pants before actually pooping, a real breakthru! And his younger sister potty trained along with him, which helped somewhat. I also heard that dad has to really let the boy into the bathroom with him to get a better handle on male plumbing. Now you know we mom's have not gone to the bathroom without a child in the room for years, but it seems you have to TELL the dads to let the kid in to see how it works...

[Rae Kridel]

He's more eager to sit on the potty, knows what it's for, and has used it more than a few times. But it's really starting to enter his verbal canon now, because he will sometimes say "Pee pee, poo poo" just because. Gee, thanks Elmo. But when he does, we whisk him off to the potty so he knows that to expect when he says the words.

[Kim disney]

My son is 6 years old and yes, you have to laugh at some of the crazy things. I have said the same thing, I love my son more than I can express, but he does have some strange habits and fascinations that you'd have to be crazy not to laugh about. I think the thing that always gets me, is just how literal he is......I have to watch what types of expressions I use, to him he takes them word for word and not how they're meant. I think one of my favorite stories is the time right before Easter when I was talking on the phone to a good friend, Caleb with his super sonic hearing, could hear who I was talking to but asked anyway, I responded that I was talking to the Easter Bunny, not even thinking about what I had said....until a few days later, right before Easter when my older son told him he'd better be good or the Easter Bunny would not bring him an easter basket. He thought about this and said my friend's name and asked if he would come down the chimney or hop through the front door.......... to this day, that friend is still the Easter Bunny!!

[Chriss Gregor-Maxwell]

My son is so literal it makes me laugh too. We were reading once, and he came to a sentence like "...and they were all gone!" and he read it without inflection, of course. I pointed to the exclamation point and asked him "what's this?" to which he replied "It's an exclamation point. " I nodded and said "So say it like you are excited." (meaning the sentence) and he promptly told me "IT'S AN EXCLAMATION POINT!"

[Chriss Gregor-Maxwell]

Another literalism...homework involved putting a ring around certain objects- my lovely son drew beatiful rings, complete with a diamond in the center, around each object....