The pure belly-gut laughter will always make this momma smile. And the more Owen laughs the more I smile. “No raccoon no cat no raccoon no cat no dog no pig no cat no pig no cat”, he went on and on. I’m not sure how this has become something but now he runs up to me and will get about an inch from my nose and rattle this off. When Owen was little he would take my finger and put it on the screen of his tablet and move it to where he wanted it to go. It was almost like he didn’t understand his fingers could do the same thing. It was hard for him to process the concept. After a while, he started doing more on his own but he would still bring me his tablet to open apps or change the screen, and then one day he started finding videos on his own but still needed help once he would close the screen. Now I watch him fly through the different screens and find everything he wants, unless he wants to use the voice-activated option and then he asks me to do it sometimes. He goes through stages where he will take his finger and instead of tapping directly on an app he will hit next to it, repeatedly poking the screen hard, pulling his finger back, and doing it again. Sometimes instead of pulling it back, he will drag it off the edge of the tablet. He has started doing this again after a long time of not doing it. I wish he could tell me why he does this. I would love to be able to understand the process he goes through or if this is to help him center himself. It feels like it is more of a need for him like he can’t move forward until he hits the screen so many times. At first, I tried to get him to stop because it looked like he was hitting the tablet and I thought it was something he couldn’t open so I tried to help him. Then I realized no matter how many times I tried to help him or open the app he would still close it and go through the motions. This happens with numerous activities that he needs to go through all the steps over and over until he can move forward. I learned early on I can try to distract him and it may take his mind off of it for a moment but once he has time he goes right back to what he was doing so I know it is something he is processing. He was very calm today and I can tell he is growing. When he got home from school he ate and ate and ate. He fell asleep quickly tonight in my arms and in my face he said, “no cats no dogs no raccoons no cats” and he was out. Thankful today for his smile that carries me through our days. Find your joy, follow your heart, and live your dreams out loud. Smiles to all and donut daze!
RSS Feed