Saturday, 26 March 2011

Sleeping with flowery curtains & the awesome power of autism

Lively banter between Chrissy & step-dad, Ian, last night. A lion in her DVD cartoon roared, making Chrissy laugh. Ian asked what the sound was. 'Evil' Chrissy said. Breadth of vocabulary astonishes us at times. How did she know that word & relate it to roaring? She will stop in her tracks to point out tiny details in a room that we'd never notice, such as the 'Home' written on my Homepride biscuit tin, or a miniscule spider hanging from a big window, & put the correct name to them.

When we put Chrissy to bed, she said she wanted to change her 'cushion' (pillow). I turned it over a couple of times, which usually does the job, but she wasn't having it. Her eyes darted around her bedroom, and alighted on a pair of her old flowery curtains in a pile in the corner. "Want flower cushion," she said. Ian showed her that they were in fact curtains but Chrissy insisted on having placed around her pillow before she would settle.

This morning it was 'I want two' of everything from tissue to toast. We tear tissue in half & cut toast up, & she's satisfied with that. Light switches went on & off, every door around her was shut until she felt calm enough to take her tablets and eat her breakfast.

During all Chrissy's waking hours her life & the lives of those around her are governed by the powerful force of her autism.

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