Temple Grandin - Different Not Less

A couple of weeks ago, Corey & I watched a movie about a woman who has autism. Her name is Temple Grandin. Here is the trailer to the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkN0JdXRpM

It was an amazing movie, and it has allowed us to understand Ethan a little better. For example, Temple talks about how she thinks in pictures & then connects them. This has helped us teaching Ethan about WAITING.

Ethan has a difficult time with WAITING. If we are in the grocery store & the cart stops, he starts to get anxious & upset. If we are sitting in a drive thru, the same reaction. If we put his shoes on & don't leave the house right away, he begins to panic. These are just a few examples. Well, the other day, Ethan & I were waiting in line at the grocery store, and he started to get upset. We had just watched the Temple Grandin movie, so I was quickly trying to think of a picture of waiting that Ethan would already have in his mind. GOT IT! A traffic light!

When we are driving in the car, Ethan will point out all kinds of logos. So on our drive to the grocery store, it goes a little something like this......"We go to Kroger? Yes! Turn left. Turn right. Go straight. I see a Walgreens. Taco Bell. Pizza Hut. Red light, Stop! Green light, GO! Go straight. I see a Monical's. Turn left. I see a Aldi's. I see a Kroger. I would like to go to Kroger. Turn right."

Each phrase is usually repeated over & over again until we acknowledge his request or his request has been completed. He's only 3 years old, and we already have a back seat driver!!!! And if we decide to take a different route, there's a good chance he won't like it...but that seems to be getting better.

So, anyway, back to the waiting. As Ethan's panicking about waiting in line at the grocery store, I say to him, "Yellow Light means.........", and he says to me, "WAIT!" Then I proceed to teach him about waiting our turn, just like sitting at a traffic light. And he was fine the rest of the time in line! And I have used that several times since then, and every time he calms right down. YEAH!!!!!

And this is why I read all I can, take as many classes as I can (we are going to see Temple & her mother speak in Chicago this September! YEAH!), talk to as many people as I can about special needs, mainly autism. Because not everything works. Each child is different, and what works with one child, doesn't work with another child. But, with Ethan, once he understands something......once something works.....he is able to carry it throughout every situation. So will I continue to be obsessed with learning about autism????? Green light means...........................