Many people saw my Facebook and Twitter update last Friday night, when I posted:
With #Autism, sometimes milestones come in small increments. But sometimes you get a swarm. Tonight was a swarm nite w/Stone. Progress & hope!
I’ve had a few people ask what transpired that night that inspired my optimism, so here is a quick recap:
What happened Friday night is hard to describe but it was one of those nights when I just really felt a connection with Stone and it was amazing. He was just so content to hang out with me/us and he was really in tune with everything.
And he really did great talking – he was saying so many new words it was really exciting. We were laying on the couch just kind of playing/cuddling and he pointed to my fingers and said “fingers” (never had before). There were a ton of other words he used for the first time that night – I can’t remember them all. But it seemed like every time I would ask him what something was, he was able to give me the right answer.
It was so fun and exciting – for both of us. You could just see and feel the joy in his face – I didn’t want the night to end. I was on such a high when I tucked him in bed – it just filled me with so much hope.
The best way to explain it is that it felt like there was a layer peeled away or something – and I was able to see and connect with Stone in a way I don’t remember being able to do since he was a little toddler. I felt like I finally got to see our Stone again – not the child who is usually cloaked underneath the layer of Autism. It really set the stage for a great weekend together (even with my sickness). He is listening more and closer to us than ever before. Even Saturday night when it was time for bed, he wanted me to take him (he kept saying “Daddy, Daddy”) because I usually do. But I told him that Daddy was sick and I promised I would take him tomorrow night. And he was totally OK with it – he went with Renee and fell asleep without any issues. And sure enough, Sunday night I was able to get back to my tucking in duties.
Anyway, it was very cool to see/experience and as you can see, it does give me lots of hope for his continued development.
