Recovering Noah

Today, I asked Noah what he wanted to be when he grows up and he spelled out D-O-C-T-O-R.  I asked him what kind and he spelled out A-U-T-I-S-M. Then he spelled out C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N.   I said, "You want to be a doctor who works with children who have autism?"  and he spelled out Y-E-S.  Then he spelled out I G-O  T-O  C-O-L-L-E-G-E and looked at me as if it were a question. And though my heart was breaking, I said, "Of course you'll go to college! But you'll have to work really hard." And the truth is... I don't know what will happen 8 years from now. Or 18. Or 28. Maybe he WILL go to college one day.  Maybe there will be a cure. Maybe we'll find a way to continue to tap into his potential and he'll be the first nonverbal/autistic college graduate in the world. Maybe he'll talk! I have no doubt that he'll make a mark on this world. But as his mom, I want ALL his dreams to come true. Not just the little ones, but the big ones, too.  An...

I posted this on Facebook - sorry for the repeat if you've already seen it..... *********************************************************************** Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market    Eli is sick today and Nandi doesn't feel well, so I thought I'd better see how Noah was feeling, too... "How are you feeling Noah?" S-I-C-K "You feel sick?" Y-E-S "Where does it hurt?" N-O-S-E "Does anything else hurt?" S-T-O-M-A-C-H "I'm so sorry. Would a pospsicle make it better?" Y-E-S "What flavor?" N-O-T G-R-A-P-E "Okay, orange or cherry?" O-R-A-N-G-E 5 minutes later... "Do you feel better now?" N-O "What would make you feel better?" B-A-N-D-A-D-E "A bandaid would make you feel better?" Y-E-S "But you're not bleeding." N-O "But it'll make you feel better?" Y-E-S "What kind of Bandaid?...

Me - Noah, what do you want to talk about today? Noah -    I-N-O-T-T-A-L-K Me - I know you can't "talk", but you know what I mean. What do you want to talk about? Noah -  I-N-O-T-T-A-L-K Me -  O-kay. What do you want to spell then? Noah -  I-N-O-T-T-A-L-K Me - Hmmm.... so you can't talk, huh? Noah -  N-O Me-  Okay, so tell me one thing that I need to know about you. Just one thing. And I'll leave you alone. Deal? Noah - Y-E-S Me-  So what's the one thing I get to know about you today? Noah-  I-N-O-T-A-D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R Me - Really. You're not a dinosaur? Noah -  N-O. Me - Good to know. Noah - Y-E-S Me-  Are you having a laugh? Noah-  Y-E-S Me - Do you think you're funny? Noah - Y-E-S Me- Yeah, you're pretty funny. =)

Once upon a time there was a monster. He was so nice. On Halloween he didn't scare no one.  Instead, he gave all the kids candy. The End.

Noah's really making me laugh today.  His spelling is still sporadic, but when he's "on" he is on! We were sitting at the table and Nandi & Eli were spouting off math facts and getting them all wrong. "7 + 3 IS nine!!' "No it's not, it's 8!!!" This went on for about 5 minutes and Noah got increasingly upset. Finally, he started rocking back and forth and shrieking while banging his head. I asked him, "Noah, are you mad that they're messing up all the math facts?" (If you'll recall, Noah's favorite thing for me to do is to sing the multiplication tables.) And he spelled out Y-E-S. "Why" "B-E-C-A-U-S-E  I  N-O  E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!" I didn't point out that he obviously doesn't know how to spell "know".  We'll work on that one later. =) We also started on Noah's diet again today. The past month was just awful. My hat is off to any parent who wo...

Things have been so busy around here that I haven't had a chance to actually sit down and write much. Right now, I'm just writing down Noah's conversations so that I won't forget them. Here's his first poem. He wrote it (well, pointed it!) last Friday when were in Austin to work with Soma.  She had him pick two words that rhyme and then she told him to make sentence using those words. I think it adds an extra dimension to his cleverness. =) 1.  The ride was long      I heard a song That was written after we finally arrived at HALO. It took 4 hours to get there because I was stuck behind a mobile home going 40 mph for a good 70 minutes.  I sure hope Noah didn't pick up any the words I was saying along the way.... 2. I heard a noise     I had no choice     It came from running boys     Not from toys This was written after our lunch break. We were headed back and some college kids thought it'd be fun to dart in and o...

I know that if I don't sit down right now and put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) then I'll forget. And I know that I owe a big explanation on what we're doing with Noah and all that, and I will try to write something soon.  In the meantime, Noah is amazing us lately with his spelling on the letter board. Noah, if you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be? T-A-L-K What's the hardest thing about being 9 (almost 10)?  N-O-T  T-O-I-L-E-T  T-R-A-I-N-E-D What's your favorite song at the moment? S-O-M-E-O-N-E  L-I-K-E  Y-O-U Noah! I change that song every time I hear it. (I'm a bit tired of it).  Do you want me to stop changing it? Y-E-S If you could live anywhere, where would you live? T-E-X-A-S  W-I-T-H   M-O-M If you could invent anything, what would it be? T-O-Y-S  T-H-A-T  D-O-N-T  C-O-S-T When were you the happiest in your life?  M-E-E-T-I-N-G   A-N-O-O-P  (when he met Anoop...

Q&A with Noah (on the letterboard) What’s your favorite color?   G-R-E-E-N What’s your favorite food? R-I-C-E What's your favorite dinosaur? S-T-E-G-A-S-O-R-U-S  What’s your favorite movie? E-L-M-O I-S G-O-O-D Which Elmo movie?  H-A-N-D-S  (Elmo has Two Hands, Feet, and Ears) Who's your favorite singer right now? A-D-E-L (he meant "Adele") What's your favorite holiday? C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S What do you want for your birthday? D-R  P-E-P-P-E-R No, Noah. What toy do you want for your birthday? T-R-A-I-N What famous person would you like to meet? M-I-L-E-Y  C-Y-R-U-S  (lol... really??) What’s your favorite book? M-R  G-U-M  (fantastically brilliant, offbeat, slightly offensive British children's series that has a wicked sense of humor and keeps us both in stitches) I'm loving learning more about my sweet Noah!

Yes, Noah-isms! I know... it's usually Eli, right? But Noah's use of his letterboard has exploded this past month and for the first time, he's really starting to communicate with us. Okay, so it's probably just a 5 on a scale of 100 and we have a long, long, long way to go.... and there are days he just absolutely refuses to cooperate, but for the first time, Noah is really starting to respond to open-ended questions, which means we're able to get a glimpse into his sweet, funny little personality. I could go on and on about about all the things Noah's going through right now (9 is a HARD age for little boys with nonverbal autism), and I could explain the struggles we're having in getting Noah to consistently do the letterboard , but I'll save all that for later. Because, right now, I want to celebrate what Noah IS doing. It may not mean much to anyone else, but I kind of want a record of all the neat things Noah's coming out with because I don...