A Dream is Born

Sometimes, dreams are wonderfully born from a pivotal occurrence in someone’s life. Other times, they grow from steady determination and immersion-with a sprinkle of kismet. For Little Bug, I believe it is that later.

We all know that he has been obsessed with sharks; however he has now added whales, dolphins, turtles, and fishes to his repertoire of marine life. He has basically given up regular kid shows, favoring Discovery and National Geographic specials.


Yesterday, we took him to the aquarium again. It was an amazing trip and the realization of a dream. He watched the sharks and fishes in the tank and began to explain why some were fish and some were sharks. He pointed at a big Sturgeon and explained that it couldn’t be a shark because it only had one dorsal fin.


His light bulb moment came from the Seattle waterfronts new problem- tons and tons of jellyfish that shouldn’t be here and they can’t figure out how to get rid of. Little Bug and I were waiting for Nick on a pier and looking at the water. Suddenly, a bit of pink could be spotted. He yelled, “Jellyfish!” and began to jump up and down.


I watched and waited to see what it was. I was a little nervous that it was trash and he would be disappointed. More and more pink began to become visible along with some white and orange. Finally, a huge jellyfish appeared. Right behind it came a flock of tiny opaque jellies. This was Little Bug’s first experience with sea life outside of an aquarium.


He looked at me and said, “I’ma learn bout sharks.”


“Do you mean watching your movies and reading your books?”


“No! Ima swim with sharks- tiger sharks….whale sharks… bull sharks… jelly fishes…. Squid”


“Do you mean a biologist?”


“Yep. I’ma beelologist!”


Dreams are fragile, fragile things. This is something we weren’t sure we would ever get to experience with Little Bug. Nick and I will move mountains and go to hell and back to make sure he has every opportunity to become a beelologist.

Preoccupation with Certain Topics

The title of this blog is a common symptom of ASD. Google Autism or ASD and that is usually one of the symptoms listed under the category of Limited Interests in Activity or Play. Little Bug definitely exhibits this one.

Now, I realize that many children have favorites- a favorite show or animal, place to go or thing to eat. Favorites that at times can border on obsession. The difference here is that it is an all consuming obsession- actually three:

1. Fish- Whenever we are out and about, he asks for fish. As I have mentioned, he has a map in his little brain that keep track of where the fish are. We have had to change how we get from our house to certain places as driving past places where the fish live without stopping result in a meltdown and Little Bug will often try to unbuckle himself from his car seat. Needless to say, he talks about fish constantly- not sure what about, but I do know it is about fish. We are unable to go to the grocery store without a meltdown, as apparently there is a federal law that says all grocery stores must have a pet store that sell fish next door.
2. Buses- He now firmly believes that whenever we are going to go somewhere, we are going to go by buses. He will stand by the door 3 to 5 times a day and yell bus. He will then gather every one's shoes and line them up and physically try to make you put them on so he can go on a bus ride. Walking the dog now results in meltdowns because we aren't taking a bus to do it.
3. Sharks- One would think that this should be part of fish, but this is a very separate obsession. He watches Discovery Shark programs, baths with his sharks and discusses them at length throughout the day.

Last night, Little Bug woke us up every hour to discuss fish. He would tap me until I was awake and say, "Daee, Fish! Fish? Fish, Daee." Every. Hour. All. Night. Long. To me, this has passed over favorites and into the land of obsession. An obsession is defined as- Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

Uh, yeah, we have an obsession. His little voice gets frantic and he appears anxious and nervous when discussing these topics. If anyone has ideas about this, please let us know. I don't think I am a hard ass, however I think it is unreasonable to indulge a trip to the fish store to get a gallon of milk. I am all about picking my battles, but at some point, we have to find a solution rather than assuage the problem.