The Reason I Jump

Why? This has been an ongoing question for me concerning many of Robbie's behaviors. Why does he jump? When he saw a sticker with Chicken little on it last week , why couldn't he tell me who the character was? We've seen that movie 50 times- at least. Why will Robbie read at school but not at home? Why on Monday is much of the information that is considered "known" on Friday completely foreign? Why do movies resonate so much more than people? Why at 7 years old is the image of a guitar sometimes called a tiger? Why is Robbie "on" some days and completely "off" other? Why does Robbie run back and forth from the living room into the stairwell? Why does he throw himself onto the bed, get up and do it again, so many times I can not keep track? Why does he Jump? SO many whys? The same questions arise with behaviors. Why do some behaviors seem to begin, seemingly out of no where? Robbie gets into patterns of behaviors that are very difficult to break. For example he likes to take all pieces out of any games we have and put them in a large pile. He will take legos or blocks and shove them into his castle or batman house. If you try to move it- he gets upset. He has also begun to take everything out of his room. I came home from an outing, with Lexi two weeks ago, to find every ounce of clothing from his drawers and every object from his closet sitting in the playroom. Needless to say I was not happy. Not only because I had to clean up the mess that was made but because I remembered sitting in a seminar discussing Autism and behavior modification. There was a woman ,who I know from the sisterhood of Autism mothers, discussing how her son's bedroom had to be kept relatively bear. At night he would take everything out of his room and throw the items down the stairs. I can remember thinking- "that must suck." And here we are. The irony. Or the neurologist talking about medications for aggressive behavior and for those with Autism that are having a hard time with their disability- knowing they are different. Monday I went for a much needed run and came home to discover Robbie had hit his ABA therapist and Dad. Over the weekend he had hit me as well and has been yelling "shut up" at the top of his lungs in our ears. Monday he had a bad report from school indicating he was "talking back." Two weeks ago I said Robbie did not have aggressive behaviors. The irony. Don't misunderstand- I do not think that Robbie's behaviors are overly aggressive. I know much of the behavior is attention seeking. Robbie is testing us, as many 7 year olds do. Medication is not the answer for his behavior at this time. But, never say never I guess. (Medication for sleep is a whole different conversation.) The Reason I Jump; The Inner voice of a Thirteen Year Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida with an introduction by David Mitchell is a book I have just discovered. The title and introduction drew me in immediately. David Mitchell is an author of fiction such as Cloud Atlas- made into a movie with Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. He also happens to have an autistic son. He writes of his experience getting the diagnosis. How it validates something was amiss. The sinking feeling that your life as a parent is going to be much tougher than anticipated. How so many had suggested boys are just slower than girls, so that must account for the delays. The newspaper clippings that are sent about the celebrities whose children are doing fine, how horse riding and shamans in Mongolia helped one boy, the diets, the programs that have shown success. He talks about "The books you read to learn more because up until now the closest you've come to autism is watching Rain Man or reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Autism proves to be a sprawling, foggy and inconsistent field. Causes are unknown, though many careers are fuelled by educated guesses. Symptoms of Autism appear to be numerous. Some are recognizable in your own son, but just as many are not." Well said by David Mitchell so I had to quote him! I have begun to read the book and do find it interesting. A thirteen year old boy with Autism who uses a device and another person to help him communicate and has thoughts and feeling just as a non Autistic thirteen year old. I still have a bit more to get through and I'm sure it will spark additional blogs as my mind wanders into the world of Autism. Bottom line- it's all about ensuring a happy life for Robbie and helping him to reach his potential, whatever that may be!