Excuse me. Hey Kids........................................

"Excuse me. Hey kids. The water goes in the top and the food comes out the bottom." Then a bit of mumbling about the name of the machine which does this - the Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator, or FLDSMDFR for short. (it is a tough word)
This is how Robbie may begin a social interaction. The exciting part- is he is really trying to engage in social interaction with other kids. The tough part - is...... see above. The "kids" have no idea what he is talking about. I have been trying to explain to Robbie he needs to tell the kids what movie he is scripting from(Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) because there is a good chance they will not know- at least not right away. I have no idea if he really heard or processed my advice. He was still in the middle of scripting from the movie.
Lexi on the other hand is my social 6 year old. She loves making friends and playing with kids in the neighborhood. She is quick to tell them her brother has Autism and most seem to take it in stride. It is likely they have no idea what autism means. Robbie gets excited when there are kids in our backyard or when they come to the door. Yet he keeps his distance. I think it is because they are close to his age and 6 and 7 year old girls tend to be quite loud. He still tends to attempt interaction with younger kids. They give him more of a chance.


I was talking to a cousin of my husbands last weekend. She causally mentioned that she had not seen us at a family event- a basketball game between cousins who are a few years older than Robbie. I paused for a second. That type of an event never crossed my mind to attend. We just don't go to those types of things. Partly because we are all busy with our own lives but as I peeled back the layers of the last few years the real answer is- they were too hard. The noise, the crowds, the unfamiliar environment- and who knows where the bathrooms are when you need them immediately. I explained that we just don't go to many events as a family. We tend to split up or skip all together. Honestly- many times making excuses as to why. More recently , coming clean- it's just too hard. Luckily , life has gotten "easier." It is a combination of Robbie maturing and us understanding his limitations and how to manage them.
Sometimes I feel like yelling at the top of my lungs- "My son has Autism!!! And he is doing Great!!!"   ( And yes Mom and Dad-I will admit- the tattoo of the puzzle piece on my wrist was my passage aggressive way of doing just that.)  Truthfully- Robbie is doing really well- for Robbie. We all have things to work on.  For Robbie some are- how to tie his shoes and how to engage in appropriate social interaction. For Lexi some are how to tie her shoes and how to balance schoolwork and playtime. For Timmy some are how to say a few more words and give "Hi Fives." Mine are way too long to list.  ;)


Have you ever felt like you were a little bit different? Like you had something unique to offer the world, if you could just get people to see it. Then you know exactly how it felt to be me. - Flint Lockwood- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs