Hi and welcome to a new year. This post marks the start of what will hopefully be an ongoing series showcasing the ways in which people with Autism express love and devotion.
Although they often write the words on cards, my children don't often directly tell my wife that they love her - at least, not without a lot of prompting or not without having some tempting candy either on offer or recently delivered. They do love her though. It's just sometimes a little hard to read the signs.
"Come downstairs", she will often call, to silence. Dragging them away from a video game is almost impossible - especially if it involves work of any kind. It's one of the reasons that I always include the reason as part of my calls; "Come downstairs, dinner is ready!" for example. Of course, I have very little chance of getting the boys downstairs for anything that isn't to their advantage.
I was sitting upstairs yesterday when my wife accidentally trod barefoot on a block of wood that the dog had brought in. She shrieked because obviously it hurt. Within seconds, the boys who were in different rooms had let go of their game controllers and were running downstairs asking "are you alright?"
It may not seem like much but believe me, it's a very big deal. It's especially a big deal because both boys made the decision independently.
An instant reaction to a cry for help is just one of the ways that these boys on the autism spectrum express their love for their mother.
