Thirty Days of Autism

H built stilts yesterday.

His dad, Craig the Amazing, has offered to build some wooden ones with him, but apparently H couldn’t wait.

Here is his prototype…

Pretty cool, really…

Then one of them broke – or more like… tore.

I love it when H laughed and said, “That was unexpected!”

This is a window into his cognition. A reflection of his developing resiliency and flexible thinking… and too a reflection of the power of the support system we have created for this child. Resiliency and flexibility do not come naturally perhaps… but they are patterns of thinking that can be modeled, supported, and learned.

He then picked up his prototype and examining it queried, “Hmmm… I wonder what went wrong??

H is an inventor…

He asked me if I would blog about it.

“Do you want me to?”

“Sure! But Mo-om… do you like my stilts???”

I winked… “You mean ‘stilt’!”

“Aw… Mom!! Ya… maybe you should take a picture of how it broke…”

And we both smirk…

Today he is at it again… problem-solving, sticking to it, persevering, with time and space to pursue his interest and his passion.

And he found another way that didn’t quite work… that’s one less thing to wonder about…

This week it is stilts… I have no idea what it will be next. What I do know is that H’s explorations and inventions honour his strengths, interests, and learning style, and also give him the opportunity to learn about perseverance and resiliency.

Again… and again… and again…

These are the skills we all need to keep us moving ahead…

As I put the finishing touches on this post, I hear the rhythmic squeak, spring and click of the back door screen, the familiar clink and twang of tools in use, and the staccato refrain of sneakers on the basement stairs. Like the stirring of Lego in the bin, this too has become a calming music…

© Leah Kelley, Thirty Days of Autism, (2013)