Look...WITH YOUR EYES!!!

Sometimes Michael's ability to understand directions can be down right frustrating for me.  I could practically pull my hair out when I ask him to find his basic everyday things. I swear if the kid's head wasn't attached to his body, he'd lose it.

The other day I said to Michael, "I need to see your baseball schedule, I put it on the coffee table.  Will you go get it for me Michael?"  So Michael says, "Yes Mommy!"  Ten minutes later he is still wandering around the living room/dining room area.  "Mommy, I don't see it."  He is closer to the dining room table, not close to the coffee table at all.  "Michael, it is on the coffee table, 3 white sheets of paper, you know....the coffee table, in front of the red couch."  This time I practically walk him to the coffee table and point at the table.  Well, that didn't save me a bit of time!  Then I wondered.....does he even know what a coffee table is?

The 1/2 pair of shoes!

We have tried to make things very routine.  Michael has a set "cubby" where he is suppose to keep things.  We have labeled all of his drawers in his bedroom, so he knows where things are.  He keeps his baseball outfit in his bottom drawer.  He keeps his karate suit in his karate gear bag that is located in his cubby.  The swim suits and goggles for swim team are always suppose to go in the pink swim bag that mommy carries to all meets and practices.  Even though his shoes are suppose to go in his cubby,they don't always manage to get in there.  As I am writing this right now, there is a pair of shoes under the table, two and 1/2 pairs  of shoes in our bedroom, 1 pair of flip flops under his blocks in his bedroom and who knows where any other shoes are located.  I don't think even one pair of shoes is located in the actual cubby. *The 1/2 of pair of shoes is a teal green platypus

Dale, Mikayla, Michael, Matt (future son in law) and Amora

shoe in the Van style.  Finding shoes is a major stressor every day of our lives.

After school when he gets off the bus he often gets distracted and leaves his backpack in the middle of the driveway.  The other day I came home and noticed a pile of something under the  bushes.  Yes, lo and behold, it is Michael's backpack and jacket.  The front door to the house is left wide open.  Yes indeed, my Michael has been here!  "Buddy,"  I call to him, "your backpack is under the bushes.  It is suppose to go in your cubby!"  If I did not point this out to him, he would be in major melt down in the morning when he "can't find his backpack"!

This inability to find things is a cause for major melt downs at our house.  I try to start getting Michael ready for an event at least an hour before we actually have to leave.  This does not do me any good, because inevitably Michael will not be able to find something and we will be late to the event.  I never used to be late people!  Being late is my biggest pet peeve!  Having an autistic son, I have learned to accept that our family will be late.  SIGH!

So it is time for our baseball game.  I had Michael get on his baseball outfit early. He has everything on except for his socks.  He walks through and drops one on the stairs.  He finally comes through to the living room, sits down and only has one long blue sock.  "Michael, where is your other sock?  It was in your baseball drawer, like always!"  It got lost in the two minutes it took him to walk from his bedroom, down the stairs and into the living room.  We find the elusive sock and get that on.  "Michael, get on your cleats.  They are in your cubby where we keep ALL of your shoes."  He comes back, but comes back with the wrong cleats.  He comes back with the size 2 cleats, and I just had to buy him size 3.  Back we go to the cubby to claim the right pair of cleats.  Thank GOD the cleats were in the cubby!   Ok, we are home-free right?  WRONG!  I'm in the car now beeping for Michael.  Michael is looking for his baseball mitt.  He can't find it.  He ends up standing in the middle of our front lawn screaming his head off and having a melt down.  We are, as always, late to the baseball game.   Now I have to calm him down and convince him that we should go to the game. 

We had this problem too with my step son Dale.  He would lose something, I would tell him EXACTLY where to find it.  He would come back with, "I don't see it."  I would go into explicit detail, "It is in the white bathroom on the white cabinet, next to the pink mouth wash!"  Dale says again, "I can't find it!"  Finally, in total exasperation I scream, "LOOK WITH YOUR EYES!!!  AAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Again I ask all of you parents out there.....is this typical of a spectrummy kid?  Do they all lose everything?  Everyday?  I don't know where the other shoe, you know, the teal platypus Van style shoe.   Maybe it got lost, Somewhere....Over the Spectrum.