This is a video of my son playing with Legos at home. I'm including the YouTube link as well, since it may not play on some mobile devices. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGjUzKRZTD8
My son struggles with reading comprehension yet, is able to follow instructions to build his Legos. Had to capture it on video. Couldn't believe how precise and thorough he was being. I'm no neurologist so I can't say that I understand how the brain works, let alone the brain of a child who was diagnosed with autism or, shows traits of autism. C had a host of other issues even before we noticed his developmental delays so it's hard to say which came first. He was a medically fragile baby and maybe, some of what happened to him as an infant has something to do with who he is today. Then again, maybe not. The point is, he is definitely not your typical 12, soon to be 13 year-old boy. He has language delays, food sensitivities and social awkwardness but none of it severe though, the language deficits and sensory issues are pretty significant. In terms of social skills however, his functioning is considered mild. He wants to interact with other kids but sadly, lacks the language to do so correctly. He will automatically gravitate towards them whenever he sees them so in this way, his social skills deficits are mild. That's why autism is a spectrum; it varies from one individual to the next. When it comes to sounds, C does display some sensitivity there as well but it's minor. He's able to go watch a movie at the movie theater even if at times, he will cover his ears but, he won't ask to leave, won't become agitated because of the loud noise. He does motion stemming when gets excited during a movie, will rock back and forth, like he's leaning forward to get a closer look and that would be the extent of his autism display in this context. No popcorn. Because of the texture, he won't eat it. He will, however, take a handful of it and will just crunch it in his hands for sensory stimulation. He may taste it but will eventually spit it out. He has severe oral apraxia or as we say at home, oral defensiveness. But, as I was saying earlier, C's social skills are not the most challenging element of his disability; his language skills and eating abilities are. He can read though. He will decode any word, will memorize the spelling and copy it on a sheet of paper over and over. I believe this is called hyperlaxia, an uncanny abililty to recognize and memorize print. Apparently, it's a common condition in autistic individuals. When it comes to language comprehension however, it's a different story. Like many other autistic kids, C struggles to find the deeper meaning of words, though I must say that with therapy, he has made a lot progress. Our goal is to keep providing him with the proper support, in the forms of therapeutic interventions to help him go even further. But his language deficits are what made me want to grab the camera and record him while he was busy playing with his Legos. He was so completely absorbed by what he was doing, going from the instruction booklet to the Lego pieces that I just wanted to capture that on film. It's not often that you see your language impaired son actually showing that he can comprehend written language. Had to capture that and I'm glad I did. #Dontunderestimatespecialneedskids #advocate #believe
My son struggles with reading comprehension yet, is able to follow instructions to build his Legos. Had to capture it on video. Couldn't believe how precise and thorough he was being. I'm no neurologist so I can't say that I understand how the brain works, let alone the brain of a child who was diagnosed with autism or, shows traits of autism. C had a host of other issues even before we noticed his developmental delays so it's hard to say which came first. He was a medically fragile baby and maybe, some of what happened to him as an infant has something to do with who he is today. Then again, maybe not. The point is, he is definitely not your typical 12, soon to be 13 year-old boy. He has language delays, food sensitivities and social awkwardness but none of it severe though, the language deficits and sensory issues are pretty significant. In terms of social skills however, his functioning is considered mild. He wants to interact with other kids but sadly, lacks the language to do so correctly. He will automatically gravitate towards them whenever he sees them so in this way, his social skills deficits are mild. That's why autism is a spectrum; it varies from one individual to the next. When it comes to sounds, C does display some sensitivity there as well but it's minor. He's able to go watch a movie at the movie theater even if at times, he will cover his ears but, he won't ask to leave, won't become agitated because of the loud noise. He does motion stemming when gets excited during a movie, will rock back and forth, like he's leaning forward to get a closer look and that would be the extent of his autism display in this context. No popcorn. Because of the texture, he won't eat it. He will, however, take a handful of it and will just crunch it in his hands for sensory stimulation. He may taste it but will eventually spit it out. He has severe oral apraxia or as we say at home, oral defensiveness. But, as I was saying earlier, C's social skills are not the most challenging element of his disability; his language skills and eating abilities are. He can read though. He will decode any word, will memorize the spelling and copy it on a sheet of paper over and over. I believe this is called hyperlaxia, an uncanny abililty to recognize and memorize print. Apparently, it's a common condition in autistic individuals. When it comes to language comprehension however, it's a different story. Like many other autistic kids, C struggles to find the deeper meaning of words, though I must say that with therapy, he has made a lot progress. Our goal is to keep providing him with the proper support, in the forms of therapeutic interventions to help him go even further. But his language deficits are what made me want to grab the camera and record him while he was busy playing with his Legos. He was so completely absorbed by what he was doing, going from the instruction booklet to the Lego pieces that I just wanted to capture that on film. It's not often that you see your language impaired son actually showing that he can comprehend written language. Had to capture that and I'm glad I did. #Dontunderestimatespecialneedskids #advocate #believe
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