Saturday, November 15, 2008

Internal Compass

One of Little Bug's more interesting abilities is directions. He can determine whether you are going the right way once you've mentioned the destination. For example, if we tell him that we are going to school, he knows where we are going and how to get there. I don't know know how he knows these things. School makes sense as I think he knows how to get there based on memory. Other places such as long distance drives to our grandparents' house makes even less sense as it is complicated.

Other places, such as where are the cats in the neighborhood are, is a bit harder to explain. We take our dog on at least three walks a day and during these walks, Little Bug will point out which houses have cats. Now, maybe he has a photographic memory or is just more perceptive than I am, but damn! I am lucky to remember to pay the bills, my family's birthdays, and the pin to my ATM card. His other bizarre map- fish. He can tell you which places have live fish. From the hospital, to the conservatory, where the pet stores are, and the ponds. It is truly amazing.

One of his coolest memory based and cognitive reasoning skills is puzzles. He is amazing at puzzles. He was able to do his ABCs and number puzzles at 1. He then was able to complete puzzles that weren't the chunky cut out kind- you have a picture of a butterfly and then you put the butterfly piece on top- nope, he can do the puzzles that make up a picture.

Its often very hard to get him to sit and focus. We have joked that he may need anchors on him to keep him in his chair at school. When it comes to puzzles and fish, he becomes zen. You put a puzzle in front of him and you can practically hear Eye of the Tiger as he begins to work on it. I am hoping that the school next year will be as willing to harness these obsessions as his Autism school this year has.

No comments: