Sunday, November 06, 2005

Dear Noah:

You are still obssessed with recording in any form. Videos....cassettes..and now a new discovery..>MICROcassettes!

I have seen many of the digital video clips you record. Very interesting to see how you as an autistic child see our world. I see clips of like OUR CEILING fan spinning around from a view directly below it on our bed.

I see an entire room spinning around as you hold the digital camera up and twirl around with the camera held high as the room spins around you! I see you pushing the camera in one of your shopping carts or toy trucks across the floor so I get a view of the house or room from that angle. I see the INSIDE of our fridge...as you put the camera in there! I see the PC SPEAKER as you record the SOUND coming OUT of the speaker instead of the pictures on the monitor itself. I see sideways views of the cupboards in your room. Views from INSIDE your tent in the dark. Views of you from below where you hold the camera in your hands pointing it UP toward your face and chin.

SOUNDS are big for you. SO many sounds still so intense. We did go see Were Rabbit at the theater and you were able to handle that sound this time pretty well. I came prepared this time with protective headphones and cottonballs if needed but after a short time you were able to be free from any ear protection.

ALL just gentle reminders you see the world differently than we do. You know where EVERY gas station or hotel is from here to Ohio. You know what all the gas prices are at all the gas stations in our area and then some. You know what types and colors of shopping carts each store has and better yet WHAT KINDS OF TOILETS anyplace has! Seems to be a top priority for you and in fact the first thing you usually tell us on the way into a restaurant or store is....(as we are walking along)..."mommy...they have flushable toilets in here and one automatic toilet!" and then your eyes get all wide and big and you smile!

Most people don't pay any attention to most of these things. Most can tune these things out. I guess that is why you see them more than we do...as you can't tune them out.

I imagine your mind is a very busy place most days!

I LOVE YOU MY LITTLE MAN!!

Mommy

2 comments:

Lynanne said...

My jaw dropped open when I read this blog entry -- my 7 y/o autistic son takes pictures/videos of many of the same things! In fact, we have one where he filmed the ceiling fan and turned the camera the opposite direction as the ceiling fan was spinning. I’m not sure why I’m surprised by this. Maybe because I see the behavior as so different from other children that I wouldn’t have guessed there might be other children out there who see the world as he does (though I should know better).

If your son has difficulties in the grocery store, try taking his camera along. We’ve found it’s very helpful at curtailing the sensory overload. Perhaps it allows him to filter the sensory input somewhat? We do get a few odd looks but then we get even more odd looks when he lies down on the floor and has a melt-down.

Melinda said...

OH YES...we have taken the camera to MANY events and places! Even to the doctors when he had to have tests done...though all we caught on that was his hysterics at the exam..etc. Back in my archives are clips of those episodes! He totally lost it during an EKG. Started out great...but ended up catastrophic for him anyway! So overwhelmed by it all whether there was a camera or not! hahaha. Noah has been like this for a long time now. Can't seem to get enough of recording things....taking pictures...but mostly recording things. And the things he chooses to record and play back are odd....to me anyway...but I imagine perfectly normal to him and it sounds like your son as well! haha