Nathan: You want to walk to the grocery?
Me: No I don’t want to walk to the grocery. (but I know he does)

Nathan: Does Nathan want to walk to the grocery? 

Me: (trying to explain my way out of it) Let’s walk later, it’s really hot right now.

Nathan: (with a louder voice) Does Nathan want to walk to the grocery?

Me: Later, it’s too hot

(This goes on for a few more loops)

Nathan: (even louder) Mama, say ‘Does Nathan want to walk to the grocery?’ please!

Me: (since he was so persistent and asking so nicely) Does Nathan want to walk to the grocery?

Nathan: ok!

Me: <trapped> 😲🤐🤣😜
Trapped🤐 but feeling blessed 😇 that Nathan is now so good at negotiating his needs with sweet persistence! ❤️

In the photo: Mom-Me and my smart boy Nathan!

I just picked-up great words of wisdom from my 8-year-old, Ian.

He said during his boring get to school rush, “Mommy when I smile like this, it already makes me feel happy!”

I gave it a thought an replied, “Yeah, usually when we feel it, we don’t have to worry, what we feel from the inside will automatically manifest on the outside. But I guess it can work in reverse, make it manifest on the outside (through a smile) and it will touch your inside.”

If you cannot get he feeling from the inside, manifest first!

It has been a super busy week and this Friday morning I felt tired and didn’t know if I had the energy to play with Nathan and help him grow. But I was reminded of what Ian taught me to manifest first and let the manifestation touch me inside. 

To my amazement, Nathan played with me this morning and fuelled my desire to keep my energy up.

It’s amazed at the wisdom we learn from our kids!

In the photo: Our karaoke session with Mom-Me, Nathan and Ian, always ready to smile and be merry. 

We want to understand how to get Nathan (or any child with autism) to speak to us. But it’s just as important to understand what are the prerequisites before a child chooses to engage and speak to us:
– The child must be comfortable with us and feel that we are friendly and approachable. 

– The child must feel that when he attempts to use his words, we can understand him or at least be doing our very best to understand him, no matter what level his speech is at.

– We must be exciting to talk to. Like, why else would kids hang out and talk for hours with their friends?

The other day, Nathan asked his Son-Rise volunteer, Tita Yang, to get his toy. She quickly identified which toy he wanted and passed it to him. That lit up his face almost as if saying “Yes! She understands me!” And he engaged with strong eye-contact after that point.

In the photo: Nathan and exciting Tita Yang.

Waiting must be one of the hardest things for kids with autism. Like, Nathan couldn’t understand why it took so long for food to be deliver at restaurants…or fast foods for that matter.
But today, not only is he good at waiting. He’s also very good at entertaining me while waiting!