Posts Tagged autistic son
So Popular
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on January 14, 2011
When I learned that a commentary I wrote about Clay, and how funny he is, was going to appear in the Philadelphia Inquirer, I realized there was something important I had neglected to do.
I have been chronicling a lot of intimate details of Clay’s life over the past 10 months. What he had to say the first time he typed. His message to his Mom on Mother’s Day. His first school dance. His 15th birthday. The loss of our dog. His first horseback ride. The first story he ever wrote. The amazing day when he appeared on a panel at Arcadia University.
I’ve written exactly 50 posts. Some made fun of his quirky behaviors like compulsively turning on lights or stripping our Christmas tree of its decorations. Others shared his anxiety over school or how much his camp counselors enjoyed their time with him.
Here’s what I didn’t do. In all that time, I never asked my son what he thought about having his life shared so publicly. Read the rest of this entry »
Ready or Not
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating on January 3, 2011
Sunday night, as we prepared for Clay to head back to school, my wife asked for the little guy’s thoughts on his Christmas vacation.
“So awesome,” he typed, standing in the kitchen.
“What was your favorite part?”
“We were at home.” (We visited my wife’s family Christmas eve and ran a few errands here and there, but, mostly, Clay hung out in the house, typing “stay here” when we asked what he wanted to do. He enjoyed his downtime.)
My wife followed him up to his room with a question about the coming year.
“What would you like to accomplish in the new year?” Read the rest of this entry »
Funny Voice
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating on December 31, 2010
I’m about to reveal a deep dark family secret.
Just about everyone in our family does an imitation of my mother. Back in the day, a comedian couldn’t make it without impressions of Ed Sullivan, Richard Nixon and Howard Cosell. At our family events, you need to have Grandmom Barbara in your repertoire.
My Mom taught kindergarten for more than 35 years, and she has never lost the cadence of a kindergarten teacher sharing a fascinating lesson with five-year-olds.
A typical phone message to us will start, “Kids?” Pause. “It’s Mom.” Pause. “I just wanted to make sure everyone is safe in the snow.” Pause. All said with a sing-song intonation that is a tad too loud. Mom, if you are reading this, you should know that the imitations are done with great affection.
Clay may be the only one who doesn’t have a Grandmom Barbara impression down. But that didn’t stop him from joining the fun over the holidays. Read the rest of this entry »
Miles to Go
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on December 29, 2010
Relations seem to be warming between Clay and Miles, the basset hound we adopted two months ago. We don’t know a lot about our new dog’s background. What we do know is that he was found tied behind an abandoned house, half starved and suffering from heart worm. Even though he is seven years old, most of the experiences of being part of a family seem new to him. It has been interesting watching Clay respond to that, especially as we worked our way through Christmas and the subsequent snowstorm this past week. Read the rest of this entry »
Christmas Cheer
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on December 27, 2010
Opening a gift on Christmas morning
Just when I think I’ve started to figure Clay out, he tosses a curve ball.
He had what we thought was a full Christmas this year.
We spent Christmas Eve with my wife’s family. She is one of five, so it was a full house at her brother’s place. We know from experience to prepare for the possibility that Clay won’t last long. So, my wife and older son arrived around 3 p.m. Clay and I showed up fashionably late around 5 p.m.
The party was in full swing when we got there. (I’ve noticed that the greetings are louder and warmer if you arrive when everyone is already a couple beers ahead of you.) Clay typed “Merry Christmas” on the keyboard he uses to communicate, shook a few hands (my wife’s family doesn’t let him get away without a greeting), typed “Sorry to hear about your dog.” for my sister-in-law who received some sad news about one of the family’s cocker spaniels recently, then shot upstairs to the comparative quiet of the landing. Read the rest of this entry »
Ornament Tournament
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on December 22, 2010
Sunday night, we began the yearly battle known in our house as decorating the Christmas tree.
First, I hauled the artificial tree from the basement, along with our waterlogged box of ornaments and set up operations in a corner of the living room. Then, I pieced together the tree, which emerges from its storage box with fewer branches each year as it moves inevitably toward Charlie Brown status. Next I untangled a sad strip of white lights, an emergency, late night purchase from a pharmacy a few years back when the multicolored ones declared an untimely work stoppage.
Finally, we moved to the ornaments, the very center of the battlefield. The raw meat tossed to the lion. Read the rest of this entry »
So Thankful
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on November 26, 2010
The night before Thanksgiving, my wife asked Clay what he wanted to eat.
He typed, “Thanksgiving dinner.” The little guy was ready a tad early.
She explained that wasn’t until the next day, then asked if he had anything he was thankful for.
“So awesome to type,” he typed.
We had a quiet Thanksgiving with my parents. Clay ate about 400 dinner rolls, the forbidden fruit of wheat that he doesn’t get at home. What deep, insightful message did he have for my parents as we were leaving? Read the rest of this entry »
So Proud
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating on November 22, 2010
The night before Clay was headed to be on a panel at Arcadia University, my wife and he sat down to work on what he wanted to say.
The panel was for a class run by Networks for Training, the organization that has been helping us teach Clay how to communicate using a computer keyboard. The teacher, Joe Murphy, suggested that Clay prepare something before hand.
Here is what Clay typed the night before:
“My name is Clay. Thank you so much for having me at your class. So happy to be here. So lucky to be able to type. My life was poor before I was typing. Now I am a free soul.”
I was in Las Vegas at a speaking engagement of my own, so I missed seeing the little guy deliver his message in person. But my father captured some of it on video. Here is a clip of Clay hitting the speak button so the Communication Mentors Network class could hear his message. Read the rest of this entry »
First Lesson
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on November 15, 2010
“So happy to be here.”
That is what Clay typed as a greeting when we got to the stables for his first official riding lesson. Last time we took him to Sommerfield Stables at Water Stream Farm, he surprised everyone by climbing on a horse named Rocky and going for a ride. Over the years, we’ve taken Clay for swimming lessons, gymnastics, fitness classes, soccer. Looking for something, anything, that would grab him. Nothing stuck, until we discovered his interest in farm animals this past summer. He has taken to horses, in particular, with a natural comfort level and enthusiasm we have not seen before.
When we got out of the car on this sunny fall afternoon, Clay went straight for the stables. A few horses were in stalls being prepared for riding. He touched each one. Even leaned his forehead against the muzzle of one that was a foot taller than him.
Clay started his lesson by learning to brush Rocky, comb his tail and dig the dirt out of his hooves.
New Friend
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on November 9, 2010
Ready to ride home
Clay didn’t have a lot to say about the new dog that joined our family this weekend. At least, not right away.
On Friday, shortly after I came up the walk with Miles on a leash, nose skimming the ground in true basset hound fashion, Clay typed, “short and cute” for the sitter who works with him several afternoons each week.
On Sunday afternoon, when my mother asked him what he thought of the new dog, he typed for me, “Think he is cute.”
Except for a few tentative attempts to pet him on top of the head when prompted, Clay kept his distance from Miles most of the weekend. The little guy has vision issues, partly centered around judging distances. If you toss a football to him from a few steps away, he will put his arms up to protect himself. When we go walking in the woods, he struggles going down steep inclines. His reaction to meeting a dog, whether it is coming up the path in our backyard or when visiting family or just out and about, is to prepare to be jumped on. Read the rest of this entry »
Life With Clay 