Autism kids have sensory issues, period. They come in all senses;
taste, smell, touch (feel), hearing and sight. I hesitate to call them
"issues" because depending on how you look at them, they can be
interesting and even humorous at times.
Jon's newest
sensory issue has me perplexed. For years, yes--I mean years, he has
refused to wear anything other than t'shirts and shorts or sweatpants.
He would wear shorts year round if I'd let him (and I ALMOST do). Last
year, tired of seeing him in sweatpants, I went and invested a small
fortune in jeans. These are not just any jeans, they are custom fit
jeans for a fat boy. Four pairs and several hundreds of dollars later,
we were stocked and I was pumped. I could just picture my little man
with those jeans on, polo tucked neatly inside, belt fastened snugly and
then topped off (or bottomed off) with some earth-tone colored shoes. I
couldn't wait! The prep hidden deep inside me screamed with joy! Day one
came, I could hardly contain my excitement! Off to school he went
looking quiet spiffy, even for a fat boy. He seemed quiet proud of
himself as well. And then it had to happen...the end of the day. I
eagerly sat in the carpool line waiting for my new boy--the "normal"
looking one that I sent out the door just a few hours earlier.
YIKES!!! Here he came, walking in his turtle-like fashion; no rush to
get anywhere, indifferent to the world around him. Polo hanging down to
his knees and pants pulled up to his chest. Jeans hiked up so high, he
could have crossed the unparted red sea and never got his cuffs wet.
One sock up, one down..and that day's lunch remnants all over his
chest. I was deflated...defeated. His first words out of his mouth
when he got in the car, "Jon wear sweatpants and shorts!" So it would
be. I tucked away the jeans...most of them still on the merchant
hanger covered by the plastic sporting the store's logo. I prayed for a
short winter, because at least he looked neater in shorts than sweats!
This
week, as hubby and I played our usual tag-team in the morning, I was
shocked as Jon walked toward my car...WEARING JEANS! My first
thought...was my daughter had done it. I asked her and she said Jon
asked to wear them. I wasn't convinced, but deep down I was thrilled.
He wasn't tucked in, didn't have on a polo, BUT...he had on jeans and
was wearing the correctly!! He came home from school still looking
"normal" with the jeans riding along his hips as they should. YES!!
The next morning, he informed me he was wearing sweats. Ugh, just as I
thought..jeans weren't Jon's idea. Oh well, at least I got one day wear
out of those expensive jeans! Then this morning came, I laid out
sweats--gave little to no thought to what he was wearing. He came to my
room and announced, "Jon is wearing blue jeans today!" Welllllllll,
okay then. I'm not sure if it's sensory or hormones, but either way,
I'll take what I can get!!
A funny side-note to this is
that one of Jon's classmates mom's posted on fb that her son has
suddenly, this week, began refusing to wear jeans and will only wear
sweats. Maybe he and Jon are secretly messing with us...
So
yes, I just wrote an entire post on what my son wore to school. If you
don't understand, then consider yourself blessed. If you do
understand, consider yourself blessed as well. These kids are awesome
and I thank God that Jon reminds me daily of the small things in life.
He keeps me grounded and he makes those things we normally overlook
stand out in my mind. He's always done this..always. I can tell you
every FIRST Jon ever did--because those firsts are so important and took
so much effort to reach. Jon's big sister met all her firsts quickly,
and I took them for granted. I remember her big ones like walking,
talking and potty training, but I can't remember what was once the small
ones, like eye-contact, following small directions, using complete
sentences and simply saying, "I love you, mommy." I took those for
granted. Jon taught me to take nothing for granted.
