Looking Deeper
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on August 8, 2011
We didn’t know quite what to make of it when vultures took up residence in the loft in our garage this past spring. We’ve had bats, mice, birds, squirrels, racoons, groundhogs and assorted relatives living in and around our house over the past 19 years. (Note: the relatives eat a lot more.)
This morning, a deer decided to take a leisurely breakfast near our two apple trees.
Vultures caught us by surprise, though. Read the rest of this entry »
On the Town
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on August 1, 2011
Saturday night, we were getting ready to head out for what constitutes our big night on the town, when the sitter realized that Clay had managed to unlock the backyard gate and was standing in the driveway. Excited to go somewhere with somebody.
Thanks to a local nonprofit, we enjoy a couple of nights a month of respite care, so my wife and I can go out as a couple—be something besides the parents of a child with autism for an evening. Sometimes we get together with family. Sometimes with other couples. Mostly, it’s the two of us for dinner and a movie. We fantasize about just going somewhere and taking a nap, but haven’t figured out how to pull that off, yet. Read the rest of this entry »
The Woods
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on July 15, 2011
The temperature approached 100 degrees Monday afternoon. I could smell the softening tar in the street when I brought in the mail. Feel the heat waves rising off the driveway, as I waited for Clay’s bus to bring him home from summer school. (Our sitter had the afternoon off.) The dog had the right idea. It was a day to lay on the sofa in the air conditioned living room, little legs pumping, dreaming of chasing rabbits across the dewy grass on a cool fall morning.
So, of course, I decided to take the little guy to a nearby state park. He is as bored as I am hanging around the house in the late afternoon. Boredom leads to compulsive behaviors, and that isn’t good for anybody. No skin-searing, eyeball-melting, hair-on-fire heat was going to keep us cooped inside. Read the rest of this entry »
Where’s the Cheese?
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on July 8, 2011
Clay has been banned from our bedroom.
Well, not completely. Just during those times when we can’t be there to keep an eye on him. I’ve mentioned before that one of his favorite pastimes is to slam his body onto our bed. He already has broken the frame. (I’ve got it rigged with duct tape and basset hound saliva to hold together for now.) I may not have mentioned that he also strips off the bed covers, pulls clothes and shoes out of our closets, scatters night-stand books, yanks the not-so-precious gems out of my wife’s jewelry box and generally makes quite a mess.
There are times—a lot of times—when the room looks like a burglar came through the window followed maybe an hour later by a tornado. Then a swarm of rabid, underwear chewing wolverines stopped by. So, we said, “Enough. Wreak your havoc elsewhere, oh Lord of Chaos, oh King of Collateral Damage. The Dark Knight of the Achy Lower Back Shall Abide Thou Foul Knavery No More.”
Here’s the problem. Read the rest of this entry »
Sixteen Candles
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on July 6, 2011
When the phone rang early Sunday morning, we didn’t need to check the caller ID. Clay’s Grandpa Tony (aka “Goots”), an early riser, is invariably the first to serenade the little guy with a rousing version of Happy Birthday, a tradition on my wife’s side of the family. Moments later, his Aunt Ann called, leaving her own version on voicemail.
Clay’s 16th birthday was underway. And we had some decisions to make. Read the rest of this entry »
Searching, Always Searching
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Daily Life on June 24, 2011
Unbelievably, we are once again looking for an afternoon sitter for Clay—our ninth in the past two-and-a-half years. At least we knew this one was coming. Our current sitter is headed back to college in mid-August, so we have a little more breathing room than normal.
I recognize that I’m letting loose the shriveled, scabby-headed curmudgeon that stomps around inside my head, but as I read through emails on Care.com, I just want to offer four pieces of advice to prospective sitters:
1) Try to keep the number of misspellings and typos to less than, say, eight or nine. Per sentence. It just doesn’t inspire confidence, especially if you have a graduate degree.
“i have hade many experience with disable kids.” Read the rest of this entry »
Dancing Waters
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on June 2, 2011
On a Sunday afternoon a few weeks back, Clay was bored and getting agitated, so my wife decided to take him to a petting zoo we used to visit at a nearby farm. A sad collection of arthritic goats and dirty, balding sheep. A few oddly colored rabbits with swollen feet. A guinea pig the size of a small dog. Clearly a trip born of desperation.
Turns out the petting zoo had been closed who knows how many years earlier (possibly by the local Health Department). But then a miracle occurred, proving that good things happen to those who at least take a shot. Read the rest of this entry »
Sweet Mysteries
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on May 27, 2011
About two weeks ago, my wife began leaving the paper towel roll on the window sill in our kitchen, in clear view of Mr. Busy Hands. I have no idea what prompted this obviously insane action by a normally sane human being. But, through some miracle beyond explanation, the paper towel roll has remained there—untouched by the little fellow—ever since.
For many, this may seem like a minor occurrence. Trivial, even. A topic unworthy of a blog of this stature. For these two veteran autism parents, however, it represents a milestone comparable to men walking on the moon or the invention of gluten-free bagels that taste and feel like, well, bagels. Let me provide you with a short history. Read the rest of this entry »
All dressed up …
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on May 23, 2011
On the day of his first formal high school dance, Clay got up at 4:00 a.m. with no intention of going back to sleep.
“So sorry,” he typed for his Mom on the keyboard he uses to communicate. “Can’t sleep.”
It wasn’t the first (or probably last) time he’s gotten up that early. He has pulled a few all-nighters in his day, as well. So, off to school he went, while we crossed our fingers that we wouldn’t receive the dreaded call that he needed to come home.
At that point, it was anybody’s guess whether we would be going to the prom being held by the Autism Cares Foundation at 7 p.m. that night. Or, if we went, how it would turn out. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Bits
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on May 17, 2011
Last Sunday night, I gathered the equipment, let my wife know the time was at hand, and herded a shirtless Clay into the downstairs bathroom. The dog whimpered in the hallway as I locked the door.
Yep. It was time for Clay’s monthly haircut.
My son’s unruly crop of dark brown hair often looks like it was cut by a one-armed blind man riding in a bumper car at the carnival. No surprise since that is exactly how the experience feels when we attempt the monthly hair fest.
We’ve been through many scenarios. When Clay was younger, and a little more prone to sit still, we would brave the local barbershop. While his behind would stay planted in the chair, his head would bob and weave like a prize fighter. I’m sure some of the barbers took extra long with the person they were working on when it was clear that Clay’s turn was next, hoping they didn’t draw that number. We finally gave that up after a few years when one unlucky soul managed to cut his own finger during the mayhem. Read the rest of this entry »
Life With Clay 