I took these words from this wonderful book. Hailey's psychiatrist recommended it to us and now it is one of my treasured keepsakes. I'm only doing the first few pages now...I'm going to do a new chapter every now and then. I know when we first got her diagnosis and even when we were just searching online for some answers I soaked up every bit of parental experience I could get from other blogs. Maybe some of these pictures will show another parent they are not alone.
I knew something was different about Hailey by the time she was about 16 months old.
Hailey loves people...but doesn't care too much for touch. She would stay in her crib for hours and never call for me to come get her...she will tell you to stop rubbing her back or touching her hair. If she initiates the contact then it is okay. This is really hard for me because as her mom I want to kiss her, and love on her. She pushes me away a lot. Sometimes she can be really ugly about it and I know it is not personal. But the only affection I get from her is basically our kiss, hug, and special kiss (rub noses) when we say goodbye/goodnight. And they say children need like more than 15 hugs/touches a day (it's probably more than that). Well I'm the mom and I feel like I need more than I'm getting :-)
She would much rather get her loving, caressing feeling from the 4 blankets, 3 pillows, and 15 stuffed animals in her bed. When she was this age they had to be placed a certain way and only be particular animals.
Her attachment with Bunny and Night-Night started extremely early. I can remember bringing Bunny everywhere by 8months and Night-Night before her 1st birthday. She also loved her Boppy (passie). We waited till she was almost three to break her of it at night, but she was ready and she gave it away to Santa. Bunny goes to K-4 with her everyday to help with any meltdowns and poor Night-Night has been sewn back together once and is in need of another repair.
When children don't bond well with other people they have an unbelievable way of bonding with animals. Some animals don't respond well to her 'loudness'...like our old cat, but my mom's dog, Max...they were great buddies! Our current dog Pedro is not as special to Hailey as Max was....her tolerance level is not as high now and she doesn't care for him in her face...he's still quite young and rambunctious.
Oh my...we say all the time that she is our little daredevil! She will climb anything, ride anything, and is an awesome driver! At three years old she could drive a golf cart like a pro!! Right now though, she doesn't realize how dangerous things can be. She thinks she can direct traffic at her school and the cars will just stop because they will see her. I'm having to hold her arm and watch her like a hawk right now because of this obsession with stepping in front of the cars!
So far we haven't had any broken bones (I'm knocking on the computer desk)...but she's been to the hospital with a pencil hole in the roof of her mouth...I've pulled her from oncoming cars in her school parking lot because she want's to 'stop' them, she's fallen out of our trees in the back yard after climbing out a little too far on the limbs...yes twice...she didn't learn after the first time! She's just now 5 so I'm sure I've got a lot more coming my way!!
Stay tuned for Ch. 2 to learn more about this book and my little Hailey :-)
p.s. I posted earlier today so check it out if you haven't already.
13 comments:
Sweet, sweet Hailey. Stacia, I just LOVE this post. Love you guys, Aunt Sue-Sue
This was the best post ever. Kinda like a diary. You should write a book about raising kids...you do a great job with Hailey and Jack.
What a great idea to personalize that to her! I bet you could go on scrapblog or shutterfly and have it bound into a real book for her when you're done.
I really like that post. I had to go back up and look at it again when I realized it was pictures of Hailey. I'm a little slow I think.
I enjoy these posts b/c you explain what it is and what it's like. I never have a clue about things until I hear you talk about them.
Thanks for that post. A lot of people including me don't understand what Asperger's is all about. That book seems like it puts everything in simple terms. The pictures of Hailey are so cute.
It's so neat how you "wrote" on the pictures. You are such a great mom. Thanks for sharing so that we can all understand better!
Love ya!
this is really good, better than any book I've read on the subject!
What a great post! It's so interesting to learn more about it and the way you personalized it is great. It does wonderful for getting awareness out!
You're new header and background look great, as always! :)
Today, we did a song called Shake a Hand. It says Shake another hand, shake a hand next to you, shake another hand and sing this song. Each verse, there's a new action. Scratch another back, give a high five, tickle a knee, give a hug, etc. Hailey loved it! She did the motions to the kids around her and let them do them to her. I was so excited for her that she was able to participate in the song, knowing that touching is usually a Hailey initiated event.
That is beautiful, Stacia. I thought the book was such a great way to explain Aspergers, but this is even better. You made it so personal. Great job!
I agree with Tabby, you should definitely have it bound when you are all done.
This was such a wonderful post...thank you for sharing with us :o)
I'm ready for Chapter 2 now! :)
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