WillThink4Wine

Some of you may recall that my nephew Thomas, twin to Kevin and son to SisterDear3, was accepted into Manville School school in January. Thomas’ diagnosis is PDD/NOS. It had been quite difficult to find a program that was not only a good fit for Thomas but one that also had an opening. His previous placement only reluctantly kept him in due to a “Stay Put” order by the SPED Director.

We were all very excited and relieved when Thomas started at Manville.

Well, when SisterDear3 emptied his backpack last week she found that Thomas had received his very first Award from Manville! What was amazing though was that Thomas did not tear it to bits before arriving home, despite the fact that weather and traffic made his ride home about 2 hours longer than it should be on a normal day and Thomas loves to tear paper almost better than I enjoy a nice glass of wine!

I would be delighted to put the Award up for you all to admire, but unfortunately SisterDear3 is Scanner-Challenged.

Way to go Thomas!!

Tags: Autism, PDD/NOS

I met the most wonderful boy yesterday. His name is Trey.

I said, ”Hi Trey”. He looked up at me and smiled. His mom said “Say hi Trey”. Trey looked back at his plate of chicken nuggets he was eating and with his head down, said “Hi”.

I continued to watch him as I stood talking to his mother. I had met her earlier in the week at Stop and Shop. She was leaving with her other son Thomas as I was entering with Kevin. Kevin immediately told me who they were and proceeded to ask the mom if he could come over to their house for a play-date.

So there we were two days later standing in this women’s kitchen. Soon after the boys went off to play, she asked me how Thomas was doing. I didn’t know that she knew Kevin had a twin. She wanted to know how the new school placement was working. She said she was very happy that he finally is where he should be. I was blown away. I hardly knew this woman, and she knew so much about me.

It was then I noticed little Trey again. He was on a stool, kicking the kitchen bar with his small feet, as many three year olds will. He was listening to our conversation but was not paying us any attention. It was then the mom said “Trey is Autistic”. She told me he was diagnosed six months ago.

I went over to Trey, knelt down to get his eye contact and asked him to give me “five” which he immediately did. This little boy has the brightest eyes and the warmest smile. He shared them with me, for a moment. That’s all it took. I felt as if I had known him since birth. His mom and I continued to talk for another half hour. I told her that Trey reminded me of Kevin at three. She couldn’t believe that Kevin also carries the diagnosis of PDD/NOS. I told her he has come far over the last five years. I read a distant hope in her eyes and I wished it for her.

It was a really nice day: Kevin had his play-date. Two moms who share similar lives became supportive friends, and a really wonderful boy named Trey smiled.

Maybe it’s silly, but everyday I try to accomplish one thing, whether it’s a household chore or adding something positive to my life. It’s my way of dealing with the world according to Janice.

This little boy made me smile today. He could have been my own, and for that one moment, he was.

Tags: Autism Blogs, PDD/NOS, Simple Pleasures