Do you remember that song from the Saturday morning cartoons? School House Rock? Am I dating myself too much?
Part of it goes like this...
Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.
The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.
It takes three legs to make a tri-pod
Or to make a table stand.
It takes three wheels to make a ve-hicle
Called a tricycle.
Every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less.
You don't have to guess.
When it's three you can see
It's a magic number.
A man and a woman had a little baby,
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family,
And that's a magic number.
Music & Lyrics:
George R. Newall
Performed by:
Blossom Dearie
Animation:
Phil Kimmelman and Associates
I'm beginning to believe that three maybe the magic number for Gabe. The age where things really start to click with him. Where ABA Therapy stops, Gabe is starting to begin.
Learning about Gabe
- After relinquishing a train from Gabe's tight grip, I told him if he can not share at the train table, then we will go home.
"Do you want to go home?" I said.
"No."Gabe replied.
"Then you need to get off the floor (He tantrums on the ground) and I will help you find another train to play with."
He got up, got another train, smiled and continued to play.
We had our first conversation using reasoning.
- "Eat Yellow Tings!" I hear from the backseat on the way to school. I don't have Tings, but I have sausage I can use from his lunch box.
A minute later, a bowl with pieces of sausage mixed with potato flyer chips is being eaten independently in the backseat! Independently! 3 bowls full! I think the eating program is really working. He may actually like sausage.
-A heard a faint mumble of something when closing the main door to his school this morning. Gabe drops to the ground unwilling to move. Why is he tantruming
now? A few minutes later, we are able to continue our day. Coat off, bag in cubby, playing in the gym before circle time. Not until later did I realize the mumble was him saying "beads". He wanted to play with the bead box in the lobby. What it must be like to not be able to verbally express your needs. "Can I play with the beads?" Boo would've said at his age. Gabe quietly said beads and fell to the ground. Communication is a BIG area of concern with Gabe. I just hadn't thought about the obstacles it is creating for him. - He desperately wants to play, but only on his terms and not really.
At the train table today, Gabe had a definite idea about what was OK and what wasn't. He could put his train anywhere on the track.
I was not to put my train anywhere. If I did, he shook his head and repeatedly said, "No" until the offending train was removed. I would say, "My Turn" and put it back on the track. This seemed to ease the tension for a few moments, but then was replaced with no again. I guess there is a limit to how long Gabe thinks your turn should be. I thought, maybe it's age appropriate behavior, but watching him, he looked so ill at ease with what I was doing. Gabe has been described as having some rigid behavior. The first time I heard that word in relation to my son, my stomach tighten and I almost cried. Now, I am beginning to see what they meant.-Gabe got a few looks today when he spoke"Gabey Language" at the library. There is a big canoe that has a lot of stuffed animals in it, overflowing at times. Gabe and Boo love to play there. This time other kids, one Gabe's age, another older, joined them in the canoe. He was so excited! So much so, that he began to speak "Gabey". It sounds like baby talk to the NT world, but those in ASD land know it is probably scripting that lacked clarity with a few intermittent giggles. The younger one was too busy grabbing animals and claiming them as hers, the older girl got "that look" when hearing Gabe. Did she know? Could she tell he was different? Did the mom's notice? What's funny is that I didn't care too much what the moms thought, but the look from the little girl made me almost fall out of my chair. I knew from watching Gabe, that helping him initiate play with others will be our number one priority now.
