Four-year-old autism wins 

The best thing about having an autistic kid is that they have such different goals and milestones than a normal child. It used to bother me when I saw kids his age doing things that he could not do, but now I see things so differently. I am so proud of this boy and how unique he is.

Over the past year, he has made so much progress. I can’t put together in words all of the things that he has done.  I can tell you that there has been so much growth just in the past four to six months. I am so happy whenever I see improvement. 

1. I love that he makes new noises and tries so hard. He is the hardest working person ever, he gets that from me for sure. He has made new noises such as ‘up’ ‘uh oh’ ‘ah’ ‘oh’ ‘pppp’ and a few other ones. Every time we work on a new noise you can see how hard he tries and how happy he gets when I praise him. 
2. I love that he shakes his head yes or no. It is the cutest thing ever. We have had to work with him to communicate non verbally for so long that simple things like this can make a difference. It is great to have him understand so that we can communicate quickly and efficiently ie; if he hurts himself, if he’s hungry, etc. 
3. I love that he likes to clean up now. He literally will make messes just to clean them up, he is something else. I think it is super cute though because he knows how to clean up and does it so well. He gets so happy when he realizes what he has done. 
4. I love how he notices when something is slightly off or different. If I move the trampoline from the inside to somewhere else he will see the little marks it left in the carpet and he will try to cover them up. If there is a crumb on the floor, he will pick it up and put it in the trash. If I have ANYTHING new on the table or countertops etc he will point to it immediately. His attention to detail is out of this world. 
5. I love how he can play so well independently as well as with others. It has been so great to see both versions of this. I like that he is so independent but also when others around him can play with them as well. It is still a work in progress to help him understand the word share. 

These are such fun little things that he has done shortly in time. It amazes me to see how he can change in such a short amount of time. Autism has been such a blessing and a joy to see from a mother’s perspective.