INTERNET -V- 999......from an Asperger's Point Of View!!!

[mrsforgetful]

Today when i was in the garden i tripped over one of the kids garden toys....whilst listening to Thomas (10/AS) 'sharing' his interest of ....yep! Computers and playstation.

As i stumbled i was yet again aware of :

1. He didn't notice
2. he therefore didn't ask if i was ok
3. he therefore 'missed' the funny sight as I tried to avoid landing flat on my back!

Which led me on to imagining the 'potential ' headline in the news......

"10yr old Boy chose to finish downloading a file of internet BEFORE dialing 999"

(instead of the usual ones that say a 3 yr old rang 999 and saved someones life!!!!!)

When i told thomas this 'joke' he replied that
"If we had broadband I could dial 999 AND carry on using the internet"

All true!!!

With everthing else going on I had to laugh at this !!!

As was my husbands reaction when after 12 hours away golfing he asked Leigh if he'd missed him....he replied 'NO' ....(!!!) I then teased a longer answer out which was that he 'Hadn't even noticed he was gone'.....I gave up at that point!
NT Alex had asked daddy if he had had any dinner and told him that he had had a 'too long day playing golf'(yesterday he noticed DH going out and asked where he was going and could he go- he is the only one who asks this)....Thomas and Leigh are never bothered as long as they have their 'special interest' activities.

I had to laugh Mrsforgetful! Have you read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"? It's full of this kind of bitter-sweet moment.

Very good post Maryz. I know what you mean - 18 months ago I too was pretty despairing, but came to the realisation that a lot of my son's acute problems at that time were down to his then nursery being rubbish at dealing with him. Things have improved a lot for me (andn him!) since then.

MrsF - I've just frightened poor ds2 by laughing hysterically at Thomas' comment about having Broadband so that he could dial 999 at the same time! Are you sure he's not secretly my dh's child??? Now that WOULD be a Mumsnet scandal!

I was pleased when ds1 seemed to show sympathy over my cut hand yesterday. He said "Hurt hand. Poor Mummy." I felt somewhat deflated when he added, "Must be more careful!" in his sternest little voice. Oh well....

This is wierd as my 6yo ds (AS/ADHD)has ALOT of empathy. For instance if I cut myself, he will ask questions, wipe away tears and try to make me feel better.

When he goes to take his Ritalin at school after lunch, he is ALWAYS found in the medical room caring for the waifs and strays with stomach aches or cut fingers etc, rubbing their tummies or getting a cold compress. Did he learn this behaviour from me, therefore doing it naturally without thinking? It appears to be the only thing that he does that other AS don't.

The Curious Incident...is a brilliant book - full of insight into the AS mind, wonderful. Loved your story Mrs Forgetful, it made me laugh thanks.

today actually saw the 'flip side' of this empathy thing too!

Leigh was fiddling with his 'magnetic glow-in-the-dark self coiling wristband' (anyone know the one's i mean- issued to our school kids for road safety - you lay them flat then touch the end and they spring back into a wristband )

Well it snapped back and hit him in both eyes (his left eye is still swollen - 5 hours later.)

He screamed...he reacts to any pain very dramatically- i was scared to death as when i looked in his eye he kept rolling his eyeball- anyhow i said to him about getting some cold wet tissue as a compress- and before i knewit NY Alex had got some- and some dry incase leigh got wet.

this was lovely to see- and made such a change.

tHen the BEST bit was when Thomas (AS) without prompting did 'his bit' to make leigh feel better.
He said he'd go upstairs and set up some 'cheats' for the playstation game leigh was playing before this accident (!!!).....this is a big step for him as he is very protective of his cheats and to do this without me bribing him is unheard of- I was VERY proud!(also it amused me that this was his way of behaving empathically!)

Mrs F - very funny story Great for Thomas - bet that made your day !!

ds swings from one extreme to the other with dd - he is either pushing her away or bossing her about or goes into 'gentle mode' and will stroke her head. If I pretend to cry (fortunately I don;t often really cry) he will pat me and say "it's alright".

Hope Leigh's eye is better soon.

Awwwww! I hope little Leigh's eye is feeling a bit better. You must have been so proud of your two little helpers as well.

almost as 'proud' as when Alex opened 3 packets of my seeds and sprinkled them all round their play-den.....ironically one packet was for VIOLAS (tiny pansies) and i had specially chosen them as they were called 'Little Rascals'!!!!! (paid £4 for the bl**dy packet too!)

At the ED psychologists talk i attended last week ...she though Alex was the Aspie child when i described this event!

MrsF!! We really MUST stop meeting like this!

How appropriate that Alex should choose the ones called "Little Rascals"! I can just see you with a set of tweezers trying to rescue them!

i did actually grovel on the floor of my greenhouse looking for sweet pea seeds as they are bigger!!!

Aha! I just KNEW you would do something like that!

another 'proud moment' was today when thomas showed me a website for 'cheats' for the playstation where he has contributed cheats for DIGIMON WORLD 3....and the editor has checked them out and included them on his site....so anyone needing those cheats in the whole WIDE WORLD....can read my son's contribution!!! He even has his name against them so i guess he is famous at last!

Bless him! Another Forgetful destined for fame. He's obviously a very clever boy.

yes he definitely gets protective of them here- he even calls leigh a 'cheater' to wind him up- i've told leigh to answer back with' well you found the cheats for me!' something i think they are beginning to do together which is a milestone too,,,,, and thats the way they are finally finding that each is good at somrthing different so if they combinr there skills they acheive more....think thats called sharing!!!!!

Was it you saying that your son is doing so well- but that you worry this can lead to loss inservices....i have this exact worry about trying EYE-Q....what if it did make a remakable differnce and then i feel worried that we'd be dependant on it and then help would be removed as not needed...then the EYE-Q would 'cgange' and they would reject it....amd the problems woulkd return....but we'd be back to getting no help....whereas if we just stay as we are we get DLA etc.....so if with EYE-Q his AS miraculously disappearded (ASif?;O) thrn so would the DLA....and then we'd have to apply again!!! OOOH I'm waffleing!

I'm trying to convince my son that laughing loudly and hysterically when people fall or hurt themselves or drop something, and then telling them how silly they are and that they should be more careful, is just not acceptable.