Theme Week #7

He is all of the cliches - apple of his mommy's eye, a chip off the 'ol block, the spitting image of his dad, a cheerful roly poly kid, poke his tummy and hear him giggle like the Pilsbury doughboy - all of that.  But he is more than that - bigger, broader, deeper.  He is also a Label.  This Label is Autism.  The kind of Label that requires a Capital letter, to put that extra Oomph into it.

He walks into the room cheerful enough, humming to the tune that happens to pop into his head or reciting his inventory of tv commercial jingles and catch-phrases.  Not looking left or right, he goes to the computer.  He looks expectantly at the screen, it's turned off, just a square of black looks back at him - and all hell breaks loose.  Knocking over the chair, flopping on the floor, flailing his legs wildly - it's Autism.

Happily chattering away, he pushes the grocery cart down the aisles, steered descretely by Mom holding onto the edge of the handle.  Stopping now and then as he sees items that he remembers from the kitchen at home, he grabs a box and carelessly chucks it into the cart, regardless of the fragile eggs or bananas inside.  At the next stop Mom takes the box back out and places it on the nearest shelf - sorry Mr. Stockboy, it's Autism.

At the doctor's office there are great new toys to look at.  He doesn't play with them because the other kids in the office are over there playing with them, and he doesn't like to play with other kids.  He sits and bounces in his seat in the waiting room by his patient little sister.  She is reading him a book, he is not interested or paying any attention, but she is determined to keep him "occ-ah-pied" while they wait.  Mom reminds him that after they see the doctor they will stop for a juice at the store - doctor's first, then juice at the store.  He repeats it like a mantra, "doctor's First! then Juice! at the Store!"  The nurse comes out of the special door just for nurses, and calls out a name.  Not his name - not his turn - not happy.  He yells his disappointment, screams really, and recites (for everyone who wasn't paying attention) "Doctor's FIRST! Then JUICE! At The STORE!"  His sister looks at the startled faces of the other kids who stopped playing, and tells them "It's ok, he has Aud-a-tis-um."