Autism and Touch

In case you don’t know, touch can be different for people on the autism spectrum.

It can range from physically painful, to uncomfortable, to almost not feeling at all.

My 7yo falls kind of in the middle, with some tendencies toward not feeling physical things as much. He’s considered high functioning on the spectrum.

It’s a strange world for him. He WANTS the hugs and affection, but at the same time, it makes him uncomfortable.

I’ll ask him to come sit next to me on the couch and put my arm around him to snuggle. He’ll lean closer, but doesn’t melt into me. He stays kind of stiff. And he never initiates.

Except today…

While we sat side by side at church, he threaded his arm through mine to link our arms. Then he tentatively laid his head against my shoulder.

This might not seem like a big deal, but it was ❤️ He still struggled with the closeness and how much he should lean in and how completely he should let his head rest on my shoulder.

BUT HE DID IT!

I’m so grateful for those tender moments and hope I’ll never be too busy to appreciate them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Xoxo

That Time the Therapists Did Their Jobs Well and We Had to Say Good-bye…AGAIN

Isaac has been in therapy since he was 3 months old. First with CMH, then transferred to First Steps (our state’s early intervention program) for physical therapy when he was 4 months old.

At 15 months old, he was diagnosed with a profound speech delay and a speech therapist was added to our weekly First Steps therapy session.

At 22 months, he was diagnosed with Autism. The next week, a special instructor was added to our sessions to help address the autistic needs we were encountering.

Last year we lost out physical therapist because Isaac had finally caught up in that area.

Today, we said good-bye to our remaining therapists. In our state, the early intervention program works with qualifying children until they’re 3. At that time, if help is still needed, the school district takes over – which is the case with our son.

I wanted to make something meaningful for them, to show my gratitude. My son is in such a good spot and has made up so much ground because of these hardworking ladies.

Here are their gifts.

This is for our speech therapist. The first time Isaac really started participating in imaginative play, they were having a “tea party.” I wanted to commemorate that and create something that brought her back to that memory.

The next gift set was for our special instructor. This woman was described to me as magical, and they weren’t lying! She came into our lives at a time when we needed a little magic, so I made her a Mary Poppins set.

 

Thanks for stopping by

xoxo