Month: October 2021

Return to the Aquarium

While Haven was at Carmen B Pingree for preschool a couple years ago, we had the opportunity to go to Living Planet Aquarium in Draper. Haven did alright for most of this trip, but I will always remember how it ended. We left the field trip early carrying a crying Haven.

At the end of our field trip, Haven decided she wanted to swim. She start stripping and trying to get in the water. She didn’t understand why she could go swim with all the animals. We left and until just a week ago didn’t go back.

Fast forward to a week ago. Her current school is doing a field trip to the Aquarium. I took time of work and we were going to “see how it goes”. There are days when I am Haven’s favorite person and this day was one of them. She wanted to hang out with dad all day. She took my hand and led me around the Aquarium. It was decorated for Halloween. Haven loves Halloween. It was an amazing day. Haven did awesome, her favorite part where the otters. She wanted to watch the otters swim all day. She had zero interest in getting in the water this time.

Looking back on this trip to the Aquarium reminds of the amazing progress my little Haven has made. I don’t notice it most times but she amazes me everyday and gets smarter and better at things daily. Sometimes we get focused on the things our children struggle with. We will get progress notes or IEP meetings which all focus on the things they can’t do. This was just a quick reminder of the amazing things my Haven can do.

Sometimes I get stuck in a rut and won’t go out to places with Haven because It’s easier to stay home and I figure she doesn’t want to go. This has broken this thinking. I now wonder what amazing experiences I have passed on or what places we had a bad experience at one day that we could return to.

That’s my short message to relay this week. Celebrate the positive, celebrate differences and teach your kids the same.

Haven watching the otters swim.

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Someone once said. “When you meet one person with Autism, you have met one person with Autism.” This is very true. I feel like my wife and I (more my wife) have a lot of experience with people with Autism, but we still get surprised by our daughter most of the time. Here is a quick story of how she brightens our world.

Haven goes through stages with different tv shows or movies. When she is way into a movie or show she carries around a toy or something from that show or movie. For example she got into Paw Patrol a couple of months ago and took Chase, Marshall and the gang everywhere with her. It’s never a nuisance, it’s something she uses to self regulate at times.

One of her most reoccurring characters is Mickey Mouse. Our Haven is a Disney fanatic. She loves most things Disney, but especially Mickey Mouse Club House. She is mostly non verbal, but does script from time to time. Scripting is when someone on the Autism Spectrum communicates by quoting movies and tv. When Mickey Mouse is in the front of her mind I will hear her saying “Mouska, Miska, Mickey Mouse!” While carrying a Mickey Mouse toy. I know, it’s cute, right? I also use this to get her attention sometimes. I have found when I go into her world a little bit, she will come back out to mine.

Last week, My wife made a Costco run. Haven also loves Costco. My wife bought a couple bags of apples at Costco that were in a Mickey Mouse bag. I came home later that day and Haven was carrying the bag of apples around and setting down and saying. “Mouska, Miska, Mickey Mouse!” Me, thinking I know everything went and took the apples out of the bag and put them in the fridge. Haven didn’t acknowledge me, but went to the fridge and grabbed the apples and put them back in the bag and continued what she was doing. She even took the bag of apples to bed.

Denise at Mousesteps on Twitter: "Thank you Costco for my Mickey Mouse apples… "
“Mouska, Miska, Mickey Mouse!”

The next day, my wife calls me after picking up Haven. She tells me Haven still had the bag of apples with her. She took them to school and sat them on her desk. I asked my wife if they were a distraction and she said. “No, and she was told she shared apples with her her class.” The bag was a little lighter than when she went to school.

Welcome to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse of Apples everybody. This little girl makes me laugh everyday. She lightens our life so much with every little thing she does.