Multicoloured Mayhem : Parenting the Many Shades of Adolescents and Children With Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and AD/HD

Author:Jackson, Jacqui. [Jackson, Jacqui.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Treasured memories

Memories are the most treasured gifts we can give our children. When they leave home, their memories go with them.

Most families have special events and family gatherings which they can look back on and talk about, smile about and even cringe over in years to come. When children in the family have a special need, particularly one as unpredictable as autism, then there seem to be far more of these occasions to remember - all of them with hilarity (and maybe some embarrassment!). Whilst trips down memory lane for other children mainly consist of fond memories of days out with their parents, particular treats and fun times, my elder children regularly sit and reminisce over the boys’ antics and laugh hysterically as they remember past events. The boys and their differences add a special depth to the family, give the girls a rare understanding of others and create a wealth of hilarious memories for us all to cherish forever.

Sometimes as parents we forget these treasured times and I personally feel very privileged to have such special children to impart their own unique ways on special occasions. Sometimes family times really are fun!

If you ask my children to recall Christmas, they will be quite matter of fact about the way Ben has to be introduced slowly to the idea. Whilst one room is full of sacks of presents and strewn with wrapping paper, the children take it in turns to sit in the other room with Ben, away from all of the change and noise, and play with ‘autistic' toys in order to keep him calm. The most major excitement for all of them this year was the fact that Ben is now very much ‘in our world' and stayed in the room with us whilst thoroughly enjoying ripping the paper off his presents (although he did eat it afterwards!). Without the presence of the different shades of autism and related differences in our household, I am sure that we would be hard-pressed to find other incidents that caused such genuine delight.

If you ask my children to recall Easter, I know full well the one that will spring to their minds. It's not something I will forget easily either! They often collapse into fits ofgiggles as they tell the tale, and relish the opportunity to recount it at the most inopportune moments. Easter is difficult in our house because the boys are on a gluten- and casein-free diet. There is always a great deal of tension as Joe gets angry and tries to steal the older children's Easter eggs. To compensate for their restrictions, I tend to go rather overboard by making treasure hunts and little games to play with their own special chocolate. One year we were all throwing sweets up in the air and seeing if any of us could catch them in our mouth. Whilst I played in one room with the boys, the girls did the same with chocolates and ofcourse I got the job ofmaking sure there was none on the floor that the boys could pick up later.

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