This and That

One thing that goes along with autism is difficulty using fine motor skills.  Noah has a hard time with buttons, tying his shoes, and for a while his handwriting looked like a doctor's.  I remember sitting down with him a few months ago and I was going to teach him how to master those shoe strings.  After about an hour of frustration from the both of us, I decided the problem was his motor skills and he just wasn't ready.  I was told by Alan that he was playing Guitar Hero on the hard level and was doing quite well at it.  For those of you that don't know, Guitar Hero is a Wii game that requires intricate finger work as well as hand eye coordination.  I guess he has the ability to tie his shoes but may be too lazy to do it.  We will see about that!!

Noah doesn't like to hang out with the rest of us for the most part when we are having family time.  He ususally is in the basement or his bedroom when we are together in the living room.  The exception is Tuesday  and Friday nights.  On Friday, we watch this show called  "What Would You Do?"  The premise of this program is catching people on camera in situations where they had a chance to speak up for someone being mistreated.  The fact that he won't miss it just facinates me.  This show is so much about social interaction and what people should and would do in these situations.  This autistic child is interested in social matters. I am hopeful and pleased with this and I wouldn't be surprised if Noah one day sticks up for someone being wronged.

He also can't miss "The Biggest Loser".  He loves it as do the rest of us.  The down side to this is that he is terrified of gaining weight.  He is very concerned with portion sizes and making sure he gets enough exersize.  I guess it's not all bad.  Last year on the show, one of the contestants made the comment that all he ate for breakfast was coffee and pasteries.  One morning when Noah wasn't eating his usual Poptart, I asked him why.  He didn't want to tell me at first but I was able to coax it out of him.  He told me that Poptarts are a toaster pastery and he didn't want to get like that guy on  The Biggest Loser.  Oh brother.