the pinball wizard

If someone were to ask me how my daughter’s brain works i would say that it’s like a pinball machine. Let’s see how my theory looks-

someone makes a comment or asks her a question and it hits her like the ball shooting up into the playing field of the machine. where and what it will hit is very unpredictable. will it bounce off of past experiences and “ring a bell” to her in an area of understanding? will it fall into silence in a black hole of confusion? will it get stuck in a repetitive pattern of bounces that seems to go on forever? will it fall silently down out of play without ever causing a reaction? will it cause a reaction that’s totally out of anybody’s control creating havoc in front of our eyes? or …. will everything fall smoothly into play with the ball and the player working in unison, hitting a paddle, going back up for more points, coming back down for another hit on a flipper. Perfect, reciprocal movements that create a very pleasurable, even addictive, experience.

that’s how things can go with my daughter. Lucky for me, most of our “play” is enjoyable and rewarding, but too many times people end up frustrated and Belle (like the ball in play) doesn’t reach her full potential.

deciphering an asperger’s conversation

belle-i hate this school, they ignore me, it’s not the right place for me

me-(i took a peek at the forms and saw that she actually went to science and got some points for 1st hour) wow belle you did great first hour, good job, you got some sushi points.

belle- good, I’m starving.

me- oh, you didn’t eat? i thought we talked about the new schedule that you were going to try.

belle- but they were mean and they were ignoring me

me- was there a female to go with you?

belle -yes, everyone was mean

i decided to back off a little until a got a chance to read over the sheets a little more thoroughly since i didn’t want to react to people “ignoring her”. we ran a few errands and i lightened her mood by letting her use some of the points she earned this weekend. As we talked i realized that she didn’t eat lunch again because of what happend 2nd and 3rd hour, but that she seemed to do very well in 4th hour.

me-belle, you need to eat a lunch in school in the cafeteria. pretty soon you’ll be in school all day and you can’t just eat your snacks. I’m glad you went to 4th hour, how did that go?

belle- 4th hour was fine- they said i could go on the computer and listen so i did and that worked good.

me-so a lot of the day went good and tomorrow should go better in 2nd hour LINK too?

belle-well except that the kids in science just look at me- they think I’m a predator, I hate games that’s why i left LINK and my teachers ignore me (i think she means parapros here).

me- it will take a while to get to know some of the kids in science, LINK and art, but pretty soon some of those kids will be the same and will get to know you.  It looks like you might have been given a break by the staff today.

belle- what?

me- did someone give you a break card and then set a timer and then didn’t talk to you during that time?

belle- yes, that did happen

me- that means that you were given a break and the person with you is not allowed to talk to you during that time. they are not being mean they are following the rules.

belle- but then they still didn’t talk to me after that

me- sometimes you talk about things that you want that aren’t possible, like that dragon you like, and then the teachers can’t talk to you about that because you are asking for something that they can’t give you.

belle- but they can get him to visit

me- no, he cannot visit your school- i checked and it’s not possible. and even if the characters visit someplace the dragon doesn’t always come so don’t ask for that at school anymore.

belle- ok

me-so with a computer during LINK class things should be better tomorrow, you are not allowed to say you’re leaving, you’re not allowed to sleep at school, and you are expected to go to the cafeteria for lunch- if you want to bring a whole lunch that’s fine, but you have to have some protein in it (we’ll work that out later today) and you have to go to the cafeteria by 11:15 at the latest.
good job using your manners today and saying ok!