Parenthood episode plays out in real life with Aspergers class president

 A while ago my wife and I enjoyed watching this episode where Max runs for class president and gets elected.  Anyone who follows the show is aware that Max has Aspergers. We thought that it was good entertainment, but didn't think it was very realistic that someone with Aspergers could actually be elected class president.

About a week later I arrived to pick up my kids from school.  My son and his teacher were sitting outside waiting to greet me.  He had an award sticker on his shirt and she said that he'd been elected class president.  I wasn't aware of any election going on in his class and thought, "Oh, this was just a cute gimmick to teach the class about politics and everyone got elected."  I was sincerely confused by the concept of my son being elected by his peers to be the class president.  Upon further questioning, I realized that it was absolutely true.  His teacher had required every student in the class of about 25 students, to write a speech and give it to the class.  After that they all voted to elect a President and Vice President.  His teacher said that he stood in front of the class and gave a "very convincing" speech and was elected by his classmates.  I'm not going to lie; the speech was hilarious.  (He was very sincere about it and not trying to be funny)

Here is the text of his speach:

"I am ___________, and I am running for class president.

If I am the president, we will have no schools on Wednesday.  I will talk to Mr. ______ and he will make it happen.  We need at least one weekday off because people need a break from school to be more focused when they are here. 

I will also make Friday afternoon all recess.  If you vote for me I will make changes.
All of the work makes us tired and we need to refresh our brains.

I will be a great president,  trust me.  I will be strong mentally and physically.  I will be stronger than all the other presidents.  When someone wants something, I will give it to them.  I am really tall and I have a huge brain so I will be noticeable.

I am _________ and I approve this message."

We weren't able to read it without laughing.  I wonder if maybe he was only elected because he promised to cancel school on Wednesdays.  We need to teach him something about compaign promises that aren't realistic.  Hmm, I wonder if that lesson could be taught to actual politicians?  Yea, right.

It was just a 4th grade class and not the same big deal as a high school or jr. high campaign; but in the end, I was surprised and delighted to see that our son is quite capable of accomplishment.  The challenges of Autism present themselves frequently.  It's easy to get focused on those challenges and forget that there will be many gems and surprises along the way.

I will always be my son's biggest fan!  I believe in you!

Letter to: "The Turtleman" Ernie Brown Jr.

There's a show on Animal Planet that Hayden loves.  "Call of the Wildman".  I always get a kick out of it too.

Knowing how much Hayden loves this show I wasn't surprised to find that he'd drawn a picture of him.  When I opened the paper I saw that it was actually a letter to the "Turtleman".

Hayden rarely expresses himself like this, so it was a sweet surprise to read the words he'd written.  (On top of that, one of his challenges of being autistic is that handwriting is very difficult for him unless he's very motivated to do so.)

I asked him, "What is it about the Turtleman that you like so much?"  he said, "That he can catch so many different creatures."

Mr. Brown, Thanks for having a positive impact on Hayden.  We enjoy your show.

Do children with Autism have a sense of humor?

It's a dad's place in nature to make their children laugh.  We tickle, tease and perform ridiculous routines to try and get kids to laugh.  Long before I had any idea that my son would be diagnosed with Autism, I was doing my best to get that ball rolling.

As a baby, Hayden would laugh pretty hard when I popped my head up from under the table to surprise him.  As he got older his challenges with communication were getting to be more apparent.  There were periods of time between the ages of 2 and 5 when his emotions seemed much more bland.  As a toddler most of our time was spent trying to get him to listen or figuring out what appropriate consequences were for misbehavior. 

After we learned more about his diagnoses I was so relieved to finally know what we were really dealing with.  It became more of a personal quest for me to better connect with Hayden.  Realizing that he took everything literally helped me.  I never stopped kidding around with him, I just worked extra hard to help explain to him when I was joking and when I was serious.  If I made a joke to the kids about something that was silly, I made sure it was extra silly and let him practice figuring out whether I was joking or not.  This seems to have helped him develop an ability to get it when others around him are joking. 

Now, he absolutely loves to joke around.  He reads joke books and practices his jokes on us.  He also has a clever mind and comes up with his own jokes all the time.  For example, on a recent trip to the mountains, I explained to Hayden that the Aspen trees are called "Quaking aspens"  because of the trembling of the leaves in the wind.  Immediately he said, "like, shiver me timbers!"  Then he doubled over laughing at his own joke.  He's gotten pretty good at making me laugh.  He especially likes to do things that are just plain silly to make his sisters laugh.  I'll have to post some pictures of the outrages costumes he has come up with just to get us to laugh.

I love my Hayden!

With medication The Difference is NIght and Day

Yesterday Hayden brought home a note from the teacher.  He was breaking pencils, getting his snack out in the middle of a lesson and not following directions to put it away.  (They had just had lunch.)  He was sent to the principals office.  The note ended with a :( and said that it was a rough day.

As parents, we were already feeling frustrated with how this year had started out.  It requires a huge effort for us to help him with his homework.  Hovering over him at the kitchen table with his worksheets and journal from the time he gets home from school till bedtime with dinner in between is the only way to get it all done. 

To be honest I was relieved when I noticed that I forgot to give him yesterday's morning dose of medication.  I felt relieved because without the medication this behavior is what we would anticipate.  His medication suppresses his appetite and when he misses a dose, he gains a voracious appetite.  His ability to control his behavior is also very much affected.  Without his medication, I feel as though I'm dealing with a wild feral child.  With it, he is still quirky at times, but it's as if his mind is in the room with you too.  The biggest relief is just knowing that, because I gave him his medicine this morning, today will go much, much better.

Hayden's Dreamhouse

We were watching a show about infestations on Animal Planet.  It featured a house that was infested with snakes using the foundation as a den.

Hayden said, "That would be my dream house!  If we lived there and I ever had the feeling like I really needed to pet a snake, I could just reach down and scoop up a whole handful of snakes."

I love snakes too, and to be honest, I kind of agreed with him.

Outwitted as usual.

Tonight I noticed that Hayden was making dinosaur noises and bugging his sisters who were trying to fall asleep.  I told Hayden that he can't play with his dinosaurs in his bed and to hand them to me.   He handed me all but one. 
"C'mon Hayden hand me that one too." 
"It's not a Dinosaur dad." 
"What is it then?"
"It's an early reptile"
"Hand it to me anyway!"

I just looked it up and learned that he was right.   Sheesh, I'll never win.  I'm outwitted on a daily basis.

All of his favorite things.

I wanted to see what a list of all of Hayden's favorite things would look like on a page.

Peregrine Falcons
Reptiles
Dinosaurs
Snakes
Insects
All other animals in general
Maps
Globes
Mud
Water
Fossils
Rocks
Legos - Ninjago; Masters of Spinjitsu
Being Smart
Science
Encyclopedias
Ranger Rick magazine
Science books
NatGeo channel
Animal planet
Discovery channel
Just bunches cereal
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
Watermelon