We've got some friends in from South Korea for a few days, and it's been entertaining to watch Johnny try and find a way to adjust to having extra people in the house. I spent all day yesterday preparing him for their arrival; reminding him regularly that they were going to be coming, where they were going to be sleeping, and what changes to his routine would be required. He fought me right up until about 10 minutes before they walked in the door, and then he mellowed out. Right now, he is sitting on my bed watching Pingu because they're in "his space" in the living room. (After our basement flooded, we have been using the spare room as storage, so they're unfortunately unable to have their own "space" while they are here!) He keeps bugging me to go downstairs, but I've asked him to use his patient body and sit with me until his daddy gets home in a few minutes to make breakfast and the hour is late enough that we won't be cutting into Steph & Rick's sleep time too much.
What I've noticed over the past 24 hours since I first brought up the topic of visitors to Johnny is that his instances of verbal repetition have increased drastically when we are discussing the parts of his daily routine that aren't able to stay the same for a few days. "But mommy... mommy... mommy... but mommy... I need my space! I need it! I need my space in the living room. It's my space. It's my space. But mommy... it's my space. I need my space!" -- He is totally calm while telling me this, so it isn't like he is having a tantrum and too worked up to realize he has already said these things. He isn't yelling them, he is simply repeating them over and over.
Johnny has always had repetition issues. I think mine are often worse than his, but he has always "gotten stuck" on one verbal message and looped for a bit before being able to continue on his way and communicate other things to us. The more worked up he is, the more this happens. It almost sounds like he is stammering, but he isn't tripping over the words. He is just helplessly trying to make sure I understand his message and intent in full. He mentally fixates and can't quite push past it until he is sure he has accurately expressed himself.
As with most kids, the exception of the rule to his problem with changes in his routine are when it involves something he really wants to do. At least in this, he is like most neurotypical kids. I know that a lot of kids on the spectrum have a hard time adjusting to any differences in their schedule, even when the activity is one that they would enjoy, but that isn't the case with Johnny. The other day, he woke up from his afternoon nap to find a tent in our front yard. He was absolutely psyched for the impromptu "camping trip" with mommy that night. The problem would have been if I had announced it to him three days before and for some reason it ended up not being able to happen. His reaction and inability to cope with unwanted changes in plans can be disastrous. It surpasses the typical "bummed" (or even small tantrum) response that most kids would give and quickly escalates to a full-blown WWIII. So, I try to wait until the last possible minute to inform him of positive changes in his day. Occasionally I gauge his reaction wrong and he isn't excited about a playdate I've made for him or the dinner plans with grandpa. Most of the time I get it right!
Camping was a win.
What I've noticed over the past 24 hours since I first brought up the topic of visitors to Johnny is that his instances of verbal repetition have increased drastically when we are discussing the parts of his daily routine that aren't able to stay the same for a few days. "But mommy... mommy... mommy... but mommy... I need my space! I need it! I need my space in the living room. It's my space. It's my space. But mommy... it's my space. I need my space!" -- He is totally calm while telling me this, so it isn't like he is having a tantrum and too worked up to realize he has already said these things. He isn't yelling them, he is simply repeating them over and over.
Johnny has always had repetition issues. I think mine are often worse than his, but he has always "gotten stuck" on one verbal message and looped for a bit before being able to continue on his way and communicate other things to us. The more worked up he is, the more this happens. It almost sounds like he is stammering, but he isn't tripping over the words. He is just helplessly trying to make sure I understand his message and intent in full. He mentally fixates and can't quite push past it until he is sure he has accurately expressed himself.
As with most kids, the exception of the rule to his problem with changes in his routine are when it involves something he really wants to do. At least in this, he is like most neurotypical kids. I know that a lot of kids on the spectrum have a hard time adjusting to any differences in their schedule, even when the activity is one that they would enjoy, but that isn't the case with Johnny. The other day, he woke up from his afternoon nap to find a tent in our front yard. He was absolutely psyched for the impromptu "camping trip" with mommy that night. The problem would have been if I had announced it to him three days before and for some reason it ended up not being able to happen. His reaction and inability to cope with unwanted changes in plans can be disastrous. It surpasses the typical "bummed" (or even small tantrum) response that most kids would give and quickly escalates to a full-blown WWIII. So, I try to wait until the last possible minute to inform him of positive changes in his day. Occasionally I gauge his reaction wrong and he isn't excited about a playdate I've made for him or the dinner plans with grandpa. Most of the time I get it right!
Camping was a win.
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