Laughing With Aspergers

Asperger's Syndrome and Christmas: The Advent Calendar

David - Lots of people have advent calendars. This is ours. It is a lot of little socks counting down the days until Christmas. Mom started this for me when I was 4 to help me see how many days were left until Christmas.

Mom - Not knowing exactly what would be happening each day, different schedules, visitors and trips all caused stress for David instead of being exciting and fun. 

David - She used to put little candy or a note telling us we would make cookies or go see a movie or a bouncy ball in the stockings. Instead of worrying about long it was until Christmas, I just looked forward to each sock. 

Mom - Then we discovered Lego Advent Calendars and stopped using the little socks. The kids got older and it didn't seem to be a need anymore. We still used them as decorations until...

David - Until last year. She didn't put them up at all. About half way through December I told my mom I missed them. They were one of my favorite traditions. 

Mom - Whoops.

David - So today is December 1 and we have a tiny note reminding us to get out the Lego Star Wars Advent set. (I know, an advent set within an advent set.)  My brother's and I still get excited to see what is in each sock. And sometimes we will look at it first thing and sometimes we kinda forget until lunch. 

Also - These used to actually be our socks. Back when our socks were cute and small and didn't smell. Then mom made these out of felt. But there are only 24 of them because she made #21 three times and kept sewing the numbers on as a 12 instead of 21. (Dyslexia runs in our family, too.) She got mad at 21 and there has never been a stocking for that day since. 

Mom- The nice things about our "advent Calendar" is that we could just take it with us if we traveled any during December. It was very easy to take the ribbon with the remaining socks on it down and put into a suitcase. 

David: So that is a "helper" thing for Asperger's that turned into a family tradition that I hope we continue. 

Review: Crash Courses

I've been watching these videos on Youtube called 'Crash Courses' because my mom told me to. They have a bunch of different subjects, and each subject has around 25 to 50 videos that are about 15 minutes each. 

So far I've watched World History, US History, Literature, and Chemistry. They also have Big History, Biology, Ecology and Psychology

They are entertaining but still informative, and humorous without being distracting. They keep my attention and are a good refresher on things I mostly already know. Except for Literature, which was about a bunch of books I am never going to read.

 

Arthur Cartoon Explains Asperger's Syndrome

 

This cartoon is a good way to explain some peoples' type of Asperger's. It isn't exactly like mine but it would be hard to have a cartoon just like each person's version of Asperger's. It would be good to use for younger kids if one of their friends had Asperger's Syndrome. 

I find a lot of noises to be more annoying than loud.  But I related to that part. Do I feel like I am on a planet I do not quite understand? No. I understand it but I don't want to be a part of some of it.

David

Social Skills: Holding the Door Open

Holding the door open for other people is polite. But it can be a little tricky sometimes. 

You do not need to hold the door open for people who are not close to the door. Like if they are more than 5 or 7 paces away, you do not have to hold the door. The people you are trying to hold it for may think they need to hurry and get to the door. So then your polite gesture makes them have to run. 

My youngest brother does this all the time. Then the people have to scurry to the door and we have to wait forever just to leave the bookstore. It kinda drives me crazy.

You do hold the door for people who are just a few paces (like 5 or less) away. 

You do NOT decide you are tired of holding the door and let go of it. You start holding the door and you have to keep holding it until people are done walking through it or someone else takes over. 

About 50% of the time, someone will take the door as they walk in and release you from your door holding burden. Sometimes people do not take the door when it is their turn. I am not sure why they don't. It seems like this is something everyone should take their turn doing. Like, if they were going to the store they would normally have to open the door themselves...so why not help out with a mostly already open door when they walk through it? 

You can let go of the door when the other person has a hold of the door. You can see or feel it. A lot of times they will say "I got it."

If someone holds the door for you, you should look their direction and say "Thank you" and take the door. (You do not have to actually look the person in the eye if that is uncomfortable.)

And then take the door so they don't have to get stuck with it. 

Game Review: Munchkin

Game Review of the Munchkin Game by David:

I don't play a lot of games but I like this one.

Munchkin is simple without a lot of rules. It is kinda a role playing game.

The cards are humorous. The art style is nice in a funny sort of way.

It takes about an hour to play from start to finish but it can take longer.

People who like fantasy role playing games or comic books would probably like this game.

Or cartoons. 

There  are lots of expansion packs to keep keep the game feeling new. 

The box says the game is for ages 10 and up. I think maybe it should be for ages 12 and up. There are a few cards my mom didn't really like because of how the character was drawn. We took those cards out. 

Hmm. Yeah, that is it. Good game. Play it. 

Review: Comic Con Atlanta

Over all, I liked Comic Con Atlanta a lot. I would not recommend it to people who do not like standing in big crowds. But if you go on the last day (which was Family Day) in Atlanta, the crowds are a lot less. 

I do not normally like crowds. But this was fine because the room was big and no one was bumping into me. And the room was full of things I like: Transformers, Action Figures, Legos, Video Games, Drawings, etc. Basically, if there is a good enough reason, I can cope with the crowds.

This is me with the Buster Sword from Final Fantasy 7. That is a game. I don't play it. But it was pretty cool to hold a sword that big. For some reason, I am only smiling on one side of my face again in this picture.

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Yoda and me. There was a good bit of Star Wars stuff at Comic Con. The best costume I saw was a guy as Boba Fett.

The Lego mini figure selection was great. I got some for my Dungeons and Dragons themed birthday party. Max bought some for me too because he was feeling generous and had more money than I did. I would have liked to have bought more of the older ones. They were pretty great.

I also got a few Transformers. I'd never seen one of them before. That was cool see new things like that. 

I also got a few vintage Godzilla posters (reprints). Mom asked if I wanted them framed. I said sure but I was planning on taking them with me when I move out to my own place some day. 

Max wanted to get Stan Lee's autograph and photo. But that cost lots of money and meant you had to stand in line for hours. It would have been cool. He picked out an awesome sword instead. 

Basically, Max and my dad and I had a good day at the Atlanta Comic Con. I would totally go back again next year. 

Social Skills: Practicing smiling

 

This is what I normally look like. I call it deadpan. Just my face without emotion or anything.

Mom: We are having family pictures in about 10 minutes. Lets practice smiling, ok?

Me: Ok. How is this?

Mom: David, you look exactly the same. 

Me: Oh. Well what do you want me to do?

Mom: A nice big smile?

 

Mom: Um, maybe a little less huge smile. Just a regular amount of smiling.

Me: O.k. How about this?

 

Mom: You do realize you are only smiling on one side of your face, right?

Me: What do you want from me?

Mom: A moderate sized smile on both sides of your face.

 

Mom: Perfect! Now do that when the photographer asks you to smile. Ok?

Me: Well, o.k.  But there better not be more than 5 pictures...

 

So smiling can be kinda hard when someone just tells you to do it. Here are my two tips:

1. Practice your smile in the mirror so you can see what you are doing. Then you can try and remember what it feels like.

2. Think of something that made you laugh recently. Think about a movie or a joke or a T.V. episode. Now think of telling someone about it. Talking about something funny helps you smile for real. 

Posing for Photos When You Have Asperger's 

About Christie: 2014 Update

Name:  Christie

Age:  17

When did you start writing this blog?:  About a year ago. It was my mom's and David's mom's idea. 

What do you like best about it?:  I like that I have a spot to put all of my animal photos. 

Do you feel you see the world differently because of Aspergers?:  I don't know how other people see the world, so I don't know.

How as an Aspergers diagnosis helped you?  My parents don't yell at me as much. 

What are your hobbies? Finding and photographing animals, collecting plastic animals. Sculpting -- mostly animals. I used to draw but hurt my arm and haven't been able to.

Are you and David friends? That would depend on your definition of 'friends'. 

So how do you know David?  Our parents are friends.

Do you think your blog is helpful to people?:  Maybe. I would hope so. 

 

 

Social Skills Book Review: 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know

David's Mom:

50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know has been one of the best resources I have found for teaching social skills to older kids.

It is 50 short chapters about 4 pages long each with what to do and what not to do examples. 

All of the topics felt relevant and up to date. Here are a few examples: Accepting a gift you don't like, Meeting people with physical challenges, Ordering from a menu, Paying a compliment. 

The lovely thing about this book is it gives reasons why a gentleman would do these things. It explains what actions show respect, what actions may mislead someone and what actions may hurt someone's feelings. The reasons why certain things are considered polite really resonated with all 3 of my boys. And it played into David logical sensibilities. If A+B=hurting someone's feelings, he does not want to do that. 

A few times a week, I read a chapter out loud to my kids and had them illustrate what not to do and what to do in each situation. They really enjoyed drawing what not to do. A lot of David's early Social Skills Comics came from these drawings he did in his journals for this book.

There is a 50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know but we have not read that one.

Asperger's and the Dentist

I don't like any of the flavors of toothpaste. I don't like the noises or pain. I hate drooling on myself and wearing a bib. But to be fair, most people probably don't like going to the dentist. No offense if you are a dentist. 

The bright light: It is really bright. I have "sensory issues" which means if the light seems bright to you my body sees it as crazy bright. Like painfully bright. My pediatric dentist gave me sunglasses to wear. My regular dentist I go to now (since I turned 15) tilts the light where it hits my mouth but not my eyes. 

Telling the truth: I like to know what is about to happen. What are you going to do next with that tool that looks like a hooked talon? I need the dentist, anyone really, to tell me the truth about what is about to happen. If you tell me a needle going into my gum is going to "maybe feel like a little pinch" and it feels like a shot...I'm not going to trust anything else you say. Just tell me it will hurt for 5 seconds. Or 25 and you have to shake my cheek to get the medicine to flow around. But don't spring it on me. 

When David was 7, he asked his swim instructor to not dunk him in the water. The instructor said he would not. Five minutes later he did. David went to the edge of the pool and climbed out. He never got into the water with that instructor again. He didn't trust him. A person who lied about one thing was untrustworthy in all things. I told this story to both his pediatric dentist and to his regular dentist he sees now. They both take the time to answer his questions. 

His pediatric dentist always scheduled him to come in at 8 am. That was a bit early for us. When I asked one time to have a later appointment, the receptionist said that was when they saw all their special needs patients and they allowed more time for the visits. I will be honest, it made me mad. I didn't want him to be labeled as special needs even though, honestly, he had special needs. He needed more time and sunglasses and a host of other things. I had to realize that I was asking for special considerations and, therefore, had to work with their schedule. - David's Mom

The loud noises: The dentist knows that loud noises startle me. When they turn on an instrument, they usually hold it away from my head and where I can see it. A drill is a little less scary if you see it, know what it is and THEN hear it turn on. But just a little less. 

Distractions: I used to wear headphones and listen to music when I went to the dentist. But my dentist has movies playing in all of the rooms. They are usually kid friendly movies that I can kinda watch and that can distract me. A few times I have been able to request movies. Usually my mom takes me to Chick-Fil-A after the dentist, so I can think about that too.

Some things will always be crummy: The sealant hair dryer thing that is too big to fit into my mouth, the painful bite things with sharp edges I bite on when I have x-rays done, metal hooks for scraping my teeth. Some things will never be better. But the older I get, the easier it is to remember that and try to just think of other things until it is over. Because, eventually, it is over. 

And we go to Chick-Fil-A.