On December 14th, we went to Williams, AZ to ride the Polar Express Train. You can read about it and/or see some photos here. We did the same thing in December 2008. You can read about that and/or see photos here. Anyway, I know this is the case with all kids, but with autism we really feel like progress is not always linear. It is very much two steps forward, one step back, even when things are going well. Sometimes we can feel and see amazing progress being made. Other times, there are regressions which can be very upsetting. It was helpful for Rick and I to be able to compare our Polar Express trip in 2009 with the trip in 2008. The circumstances were very similar, but Maya was one year older and one year more grown up. Here were some of the highlights:
- Last year, had a hard time waiting to get there (the car ride is about 2 1/2 hours long) This year she waited patiently, enjoying the scenery and the music in the car.
- Last year, she was running around all over the halls in the hotel. This year, she stood by us (mostly) and waited to walk with us to the room.
- Last year, she got very impatient in the line at the train station and started to whine and have a fit, going totally floppy or trying to physically struggle to the front of the line (it takes about 20 minutes for the other passengers to get off the train and for them to start boarding the new passengers). This year, she waited patiently and understood the explanations like "The other people have to get off of the train" and "The workers are cleaning the train" and "We have to wait in line for our turn".
- Last year she didn't sing along with the Christmas songs (but enjoyed them), this year she did sing some and followed along with a lot of the actions :)
These may seem like small steps, but considering some of our roughest times are times when we are out of our normal routine, her adapability, flexibility and ability to understand all of our explanations of what was going to happen next was amazing and made the trip relaxing and fun. After years of being completely stressed when we are away from home, it was so great to be able to enjoy ourselves together, and so great to see Maya enjoy herself and not be so anxious and scared of what was happening around her.
That is so exciting. She is really so pretty.
ReplyDeleteI was just talking this morning to my friend who has a son with Autism and she told me about their experience with having dinner at the new opening of a restaurant yesterday. She knew the line was going to be about an hour wait and, so, she walked right up in front of all of those people and explained about her son to the hostess. Then, the owner came out and escorted them to the front of the line and to a table. I'm not sure if this is something that you would want to do all of the time (as I'm sure you want to teach Maya about taking turns, etc), but I was impressed that in certain situations there is nothing wrong with asking for a bit of an accommodation. I had never thought of this before, but adults who use wheelchairs do it all of the time (and it is a lot easier for them to sit and wait than a small child who is autistic!) Anyway, if you don't do it already, it might be something to think about when doing things that cause Maya (and you) a lot of stress like boarding an airplane, etc.
That is amazing progress to read about. I can hardly wait to see her. I'll talk to her on the telephone soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point Denise. All of our neighbors know that she is autistic. It seems to help people to be a lot more understanding instead of thinking she is just being bratty, although these days she usually blends in a lot better. I've always sort of told people on an "as needed" basis when we are out and about, but you have a good point that in some situations in might be better to be proactive and just ask for things that would make life a lot easier. Most people are more than willing to help if they know what to do to be helpful.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the whole restaurant thing reminded me that on our trip we also unintentionally went into a sit down pizza place that we thought was more like a go up to the counter and order a slice place. We stayed and she was awesome waiting for the food and being polite while we were there. We haven't taken her to a place like that for a long time because it used to be like torture.
ReplyDeleteThat is so wonderful, I am very proud of her. She is a beautiful girl and those are such great pictures!
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