Beanstalk's Moment

I find I write less about Beanstalk not because less is going on with him, but because he is a seemingly low-key household member if you were to look at him in comparison. He is only learning to talk, so he still exists, amongst all us talkers, in his own thought world and only recently has been punctuating our conversations with "Hey!" or "Hi!" followed at a measured interval by "How are you?" or "I'm fine!" followed at a planned interval by "How are you?" They're almost sung like music at a perfect tone and interval, but always slightly askew because they aren't fit into a neat little interval of conversation that he perceived by all the messages of glances, inhales, exhales and pauses that you and I are so very attuned to. They are a song he's memorized the words to and is only now beginning to understand the way his music fits into the music of the world around him. You see, he's autistic among other things. It's like there's a whole other layer of being that he exists in. A way he's found to exist among non-autistic beings and still enjoy their culture.

Simple activities become major experiences and moments of learning such as this party favor:

And lest you think his actions are random and he isn't really thinking about much, here's what happened when I gave him camera lessons. He

figured out how to use it in two shots. I told him to pick something interesting and snap a picture.

This was the picture:

The neighbor girl's butt. Hmmm. I thought it was just the first thing he saw when he looked around. Nope. I turned him around 180 degrees and let him go. Here's the shot:

Much better, I must add, but note that in a room full

of people he found the same girl. Well, her butt. What's so funny is that he picks where we sit and we always sit near her. She's real nice and likes to play with him and she'll even watch a movie on occasion (by movie, I mean an Andre Rieu video on Strauss or an Andrea Bocelli concert, so this is a major thing for her to do)...he does talk to her, which is funny 'cause he doesn't talk much to anyone. He's 7, so I refuse to give any import to the butt shot, but I'm not writing it off completely. He would NEVER go around to her front side to take the pic, though.

He got five musicals for Christmas...he was in seventh heaven!

But he didn't want to see the devil in the red suit (Santa). Here is the Seventh Geneva Talks on Santa held yearly on this very spot. Results? Honey Bear can attend as Beanstalk's defense and no actual contact with the man in the red suit must be made. Beanstalk was as adamant as an autistic seven-year-old could be. I guaranteed the upholding of all the rules.

So, here we are "NEAR" Santa. I think Santa touched him, but it was out of my control!

Finally, untouched, he could hibernate with first High School Musical, then High School Musical II. Next are the Sound of Music and Singing in the Rain!

Beanstalk's World!