Autism. A calming down day

I was planning to give Bright Eyes the day off school on Friday, but last night he was pretty strung out and he lasted until the morning. He was irritable, fighting with Max, and pretty anti-school all morning. The usual tricks didn't seem to work, so I figured he probably needed the day off.

"But if you have a day with mum, you have to do what I do. You can't just stay home and play and eat all day," I said. "And there won't be any fighting with Max!"

"I won't fight. I'll come with you," he said earnestly. 

Our big appointment was at the hospital so I could book in. It easily took an hour, and he did really well the whole time. He and Max played with the toys in the room, ate their lunches and were great.

"Why aren't you at school?" the midwife asked him at the beginning.

"Um, er, I don't know," he said. I stepped in. "He's having a calming down day," I explained. She laughed and said, "I'd like to have one of those myself!"

School progress

For all of that, however, he's been doing really well at school in the last few weeks. His writing is improving, he's doing all his work with fewer and fewer protests, and his scripting has really decreased in the classroom. He even comes home and asks to do his homework! And he has invited me to come and be one of the parent helpers for the reading program on Tuesday mornings. 

"I'm going to invite you to LIPI, mum," he explained. "And when you come, I'm going to call you Cecily." 

Um, ok.

Talking more together

I am noticing more meaningful conversations between us. I'd say it's on about the same level as his brother - so about a 4 year old level - but that's ok. At least it's happening. Today we were listening to 'Carol Brown' by Flight of the Conchords as we drove over the mountain.

"What does it mean when he says Carol Brown got a bus out of town?" he wanted to know.

"Well, he's saying about how all his girlfriends went away from him. His girlfriend Carol Brown got the bus to get away."

"Are all the girls singing together in a house that's out of town?" he asked, which seemed to me to be a fairly logical deduction. 

He's also talking more meaningfully with his little brother. After the warning about 'no fighting' today, I heard this exchange in the car.

B.E: "I'm never going to fight with you again, Max" 

M: "See, I can give you this smile!"

B.E: "I don't want to fight with you."

M: "Yes. We can be best friends."

B.E: "No...." (me holding my breath) "... best brothers!"

M: "Best friends too!"

B.E: "Best friend brothers."