Look Me in the Eye

I spent my entire day today reading Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison -- a man who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was 40 years old. Chrysta brought it to my doorstep on Saturday afternoon and I started and finished it today.

Clearly I have a vested interest in the subject matter, and being able to hear from a high functioning "Aspergian" (as he calls himself) was fascinating. Being allowed to peek into his life to see his challenges and successes has caused me to spend much of the day wondering about my own little Aspergian -- does he think this same way? Does he interpret life the way John did as a young child? Is there some form of genius inside his brain that is just waiting for the right neurological pathways to form? And, heaven forbid, is he going to remember every failure I have as a parent in vivid detail and publish it 40 years from now?

Will he learn how to interact appropriately enough to have a family of his own? When I asked him today what he wants to be when he grows up, his immediate response was, "a daddy". This book gave me hope that that may be possible for him down the road. Maybe.

He is making progress in many areas -- in fact, he flunked out of speech therapy last week when his most recent test scored indicated he was well within normal limits in 4 areas and functioning close to a 7 year old level on another area. While these are positive signs, there is a part of me that is so sad to have him "lose" his therapist. She has been so kind and loving to Keaton and I know he will have a hard time understanding that his "reward" for improving is to lose out on a positive person in his life. She understands Keaton on a level that most people don't, and understands more clearly how his brain works. Her work over the last 3 years has improved his social skills dramatically, and although he still struggles in some areas, I am hopeful that things will continue to get easier for him with practice.

Even school seems to be improving for him since his therapist attended an IEP meeting (where his "team" plans the details of his school life) and threw her two cents into the mix. His behavior has changed at school and he is now coming home with a smile on his face and a feeling of accomplishment instead of failure. I cannot put a pricetag on that change.

I suppose important people will continue to flow in and out of Keaton's life as they do in all of our lives, but my hope is that more and more people will come to some sort of greater understanding about the way Keaton's brain works and the challenges he faces. I think this book would be a good starting point -- it is a quick and interesting read that is now being integrated nationally into many educational settings. If anyone is interested in knowing even more about Asperger's, I recommend The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Tony Attwood.

I know that I have been given a tremendous gift by being allowed to raise Keaton and have him as part of our family. He brings such a unique energy into our home and I can't imagine not having him here. Those of you who know him in real life know that he is a special little person, and those of you who don't know him are missing out;)

Read the book.

Are You Tired of the Snowman Post Yet?

Apparently I have abandoned my blog. I just don't have anything to say.

No wait -- that's never the case. I ALWAYS have something to say.

I have nothing to write?

That's more accurate, I suppose. I guess I can talk about everything everyone else has talked about already, but in a more boring way.

We spent Christmas sans extended family for the first time in our entire lives. I can't say it was all bad, because we had a lot of time together as a family and I feel like we really got to power down for a while, which rarely happens. Still, it's not the same without cousins crawling all over each other, and we're hopeful that next year we'll have some different circumstances.

***Side note: somehow we got through the entire holiday season without a single ounce of egg nog coming into our home/digestive tracks. We felt like Bizarro Boone and Nicole when we realized it. End side note. ***

(See how riveting this is?)

What else...

Happy 2010. If I don't end up spending my 31st birthday on crutches and catheterized (AWESOME combination, by the way) it'll be better than 2009. This year we leave the army, move to Denver (still no news on that front), and run our first marathons (knock on wood). Boone had the startling realization on his "Manventure" that his wonky foot didn't bother him once during his 28 mile day, and thought he might give his beloved running another shot after a 3 year forced break. Turns out the AT cured him. Or something. In any case, homeboy has been running 10 miles on Saturday mornings, plans to run the Snickers Half Marathon in March, and then shoot for a full sometime this year.

Of course -- OF COURSE -- after months of being careful and s-l-o-w-l-y building my running back up, I have somehow tweaked my leg again. I was doing great up until I hit the 20 mile/week mark, and then I started feeling achy after running again. Not muscle ache, but an all too familiar bone ache. I haven't run in a full week now and don't quite know what's up with my left tibia. I don't think it's broken, but I may be scaling back -- again -- for a few weeks. Heaven help my jeans (and my sanity).

On the other hand, I can do a full pull up now, which is pretty awesome. And yes, I said "a" pull up, as in one. But if I don't let myself all the way back down I can do 3 or 4. Which is more than "a". Boone says it's hot so I wait until he's coming around the corner and act all casual as I hoist myself up in our doorframe. Like, "Oh! I didn't see you there. Just doin' some pull ups..." I think he's onto me, but I don't care.

I suppose I could post some pictures for the grandparents/aunts who like that kind of thing.




No need for captions, really. Everything you see above can be blamed on grandparents in one way or another. Loving the one of Keaton two-fisting Sees suckers -- that's my boy! And huge thanks to my mom for the joke book she gave to Rylan. Seriously Mom, just remember that she has 7 whole weeks to stock up on jokes before you get here! Fun for you!

Santa finally brought a Wii to our house this year and I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it's pretty much the only thing the kids want to do right now and I don't love the idea of video games for hours on end.

On the other hand, they are playing together really nicely and perhaps they also don't bother to wake Boone and I up anymore? Yeah, the part where they feed themselves breakfast (Nilla wafers and cinnamon bread, but still) and let us sleep in is sort of ruining my whole "video games are bad" attitude. What's a mom to do?


Also? Boone and I may be playing for hours when the kids go to bed. Our thumbs hurt just like the old days! Once school is back in, we'll have to set some more strict time limits, but so far it's been fun to have a sure-fire way to threaten the kids into obeying since the "Santa is watching you" trick expired. Branik is the best player of the three, and we find that endlessly amusing. Rylan and Keaton, however, do not.

That's about it. I'll try to think of something worth your time for the next post. Think happy tibia thoughts for me!

Peace out.