Are you Mummy....?

....the question Chrissy asked me today while I was running her bath. She answered it herself - 'Possibly.' A learnt, meaningless word but funny & fairly appropriate nonetheless. Chrissy often does this - asks a question then answers it, & sometimes goes on to conduct a hilarious surreal conversation with herself using snatches of words & phrases overheard in others' conversations.

On the drive back to hospital Chrissy spent about 5 minutes shouting in my ear: "Are we going for a drive?!" Mozart's 2 Pianos didn't work but 'Forget You' by Cee Lo Green did (this time!). She suddenly stopped shouting & started dancing in her seat, her face wreathed in smiles. She can make you despair/furious/sad/exhausted one minute then switch moods in a flash & make you smile/laugh/feel full of love & gratitude that you have been blessed with such a child. Loving someone like Chrissy is an emotional roller-coaster as her mood swings are so all-consuming & unpredictable that you can't help mirroring them.

When I dropped her off, without a backward glance, she headed straight for the kitchen & food. So different to when I picked her up. Then, her face had flushed at the sight of me & she'd hugged 2 members of staff, laughing uproariously with joy....

Dispelling myths: autism and showing affection

People with autism are not all 'trapped in their own world.' Many do show affection, but may express it atypically and on their terms. They may suffer sensory overload - and find hugs overwhelming - unless they initiate them. When a person with autism does form an attachment to you it can be draining but the rewards are huge. Our daughter loves having her hands massaged and hair gently played with, and being squeezed and squeezing back. She also enjoys horseplay and light rough and tumble. Today when I was clearing away the breakfast things, she approached me out of the blue, smiling with her arms outstretched for a cuddle and said 'I love you much.' When she hasn't seen me for a while and spots me coming, her face flushes with joy and she runs towards me. Yes, she will go to anyone who offers her something she wants - like chocolate - but she will only spontaneously approach a chosen few with such rapture.