As I have said before, Boo Bear is non verbal but far from silent. He crashes, bangs, thumps, stims and hoots his way through his days. This is useful because I can always tell where he is in the house and what he is up to. When he gets silent I get suspicious and come running. Anyone with children knows that silence is not golden.
We learned something new last night. Boo Bear may revel is being the noisiest kid on the block, but he does not like it if his usually introverted parents suddenly start raising a ruckus. Let me explain. I got up early yesterday and ran 10 very chilly miles with some friends. Though this is not a long distance for me, for some reason all of us found this particular workout to be very wearing. We were happy to retire to Turtle Bread for some warmth, coffee and pastries. After this I returned home, soaked in a hot shower and then, very unusual for me, took up residence on the couch. Last night was the playoff game for the Minnesota Viking and the Saints. I am normally not a football fan but this particular game drew me in. Minnesota came roaring in from the start and held a commanding lead in the first half. After halftime things were looking more iffy. The tension around the television and across the Metro area became palpable. As everyone who saw the game know, the game was won by the Vikings at the last possible second. I found myself leaping up and down like a demented kangaroo, screaming like a mad woman. Mouse came flying down from her attic bedroom. “Why is mom making weird noises? Is she dying?” She was relieved to discover that I was not dying, merely rejoicing, and thunderstruck to learn that the Vikings had actually won. Boo took in the sight (and sounds) of his parents whooping, hollering and giving each other high fives and beat a hasty retreat into his bedroom and noisily burst into tears. Obviously, it was not okay for mommy and daddy to be acting like maniacs, noisy ones at that. Eventually calm was restored and Boo ventured out of his man cave. He importuned me for copious amounts of ice cream and I obliged him. Maybe he will learn to associate a Vikings victory with French Vanilla.
So, the take away from this is that Boo can be as noisy as he wants, but mom and dad must be calm and restrained at all times. Today we are taking him to Sky Zone, so we will see how he does with Mom and Dad jumping up and down on trampolines. I can promise a few quiet days but the next Viking playoff game is coming up on January 21, my 47th birthday. I cannot promise Mr Boo peace and quiet during that game, but I will have a pair of noise cancelling headphones on hand and extra helpings of French Vanilla ice cream.
Harriet's Hedgehogs and Autism Advocacy 