Courageous Joy

Bumfuddled

Every once in a while we have a day that causes me to remember that we were told Zander was an alphabet child – and he is. Most days we sort of sail along and I forget. Earlier in the week I read on Dorothy’s blog about research she has done and her experience with her daughter in regards to social humor. Dorothy shares the classic “Triad of Impairments” of Austism/Asperger’s Syndrome is:

*Difficulty with social communication
*Difficulty with social interaction
*Difficulty with social imagination

I read it and thought to myself that I could see Zander in a couple of those bullets. Sometimes stronger than others. I also thought that most of us could probably see ourselves in the bullet statements from time to time...but really Zander does consistently have a harder time in social settings than he does at home or with folks that he really knows well.

Mike and I have wondered at times what sets Zander off. He reaches a point where he simply explodes and runs off to his room…..often when we’re having FUN and laughing. Today I accidentally buried him under a load of laundry taken fresh from the dryer. I didn’t see him on the couch and dumped the laundry on him. Nolan and I laughed.

Zander had a giant melt down. He fixated on this one event for most of the day. He told me that I had driven him to run away. He told me that no one in this family liked him much. At lunch he burst into tears and told me that he was “eating his last meal here and then he’d hit the outlaw trail.” He informed me that he was no longer “Alex the little boy” but was going to forever be “Alex the Outlaw.”

I quickly went back to Dorothy’s blog and printed the entry “A Reluctant Tourist in the Land of Laughter”. She shares how she and her family have taught her daughter humor….and it encouraged me.

I prayed.

I was encouraged when Trish wrote me and told me basically “you’re going to make it, you’re looking for the answers for Zander and God will show them to you”. She also reminded me of all that Zander has had to deal with this week. She mused as to what might be causing him to overreact….I wonder if the noise of our laughter just sets him off….sudden laughing really. Anyway, I was encouraged.

I distracted him by turning on Play Station. I now realize that he is NOT talking about the “stupid fake tooth” since being buried alive in laundry…so all in all it is good it happened. ::snort::

….but it’s been an exhausting day.