Autism and Oddities

We are a third of the way into the National Health Blog Post Month Challenge, and I have actually managed to post every day! Today’s prompt: LOL post – write about something funny.

Me and George

My son George – the one with autism – has a thing about my hair. He buries his nose deep into my hair and then gives an almighty sniff. His enjoyment of this activity is directly proportional to my absolute dislike for being on the receiving end. I can just about tolerate one or two sniffs, but when it happens on and on ad nauseum, I end up feeling so agitated that I want to rip my scalp off my head.

This morning it went on from 3:30 until 5:30. And even then it didn’t stop – indeed, the hair-sniffing was accompanied by both boys and my husband bouncing off the ceiling, telling jokes, wrestling with each other and singing funny little songs, all while I was trying to sleep. At about 7:00 I reached the point of being too wound up to sleep in spite of being utterly exhausted. I had to deposit a cheque, so I got dressed and left. I was so tired that I drove to the wrong bank’s ATM. Not only that – I actually inserted my card into the machine, and it only when I was presented with an unfamiliar-looking PIN entry screen that I realized something was not quite right.

Kids with autism are known for having quirky little habits, like George’s hair-sniffing thing. While the hair-sniffing has been going on for some time, it has recently been paired with him blowing in my face. Sniff-blow. Sniff-blow. Sniff-sniff-blow.

Dear Lord, give me strength.

My friend Lesa’s son is another kid who has both autism and a strange habit. He is into elbows. He will grab the skin of someone’s elbow and twist it, and if the recipient is clued-in enough to stop him on time, he satisfies himself with a “drive-by lick”. It drives his parents crazy but at the same time makes them chuckle, just as George’s hair-sniffing thing tickles me just a tiny bit. Because as annoying as these habits may be, they are kind of funny.

Amy, another fellow autism mom, describes how her son watches movies. Instead of watching a DVD from beginning to end like most of us, he gets stuck on specific scenes, like a cat falling out of a tree, and replays them over and over. His family goes up the wall, thinking, “Just play the damn movie, already!” but the sound of his laughter makes them incredibly happy.

I can identify with that. George has a habit of repeatedly saying, “Daddy loves Albert!”, and sometimes it gets a bit much, but it is such a small price to pay for the laughter that follows. Just for the record, I have no idea who Albert is.

It is easy to believe that these little quirks are a result of autism, but is that really the case? Or do we all have our odd mannerisms? Granted, most people don’t go around sniffing hair or licking elbows, but perhaps we all have our “thing”. I mean, whenever I walk anywhere, the number of steps I take has to be a multiple of four. Whether I’m walking to the bathroom, down the street or around the block, I mentally count off my steps in fours. I have mastered the art of doing this while having a conversation. When I get to my destination, I will take one, two or three steps in place if necessary, just to get to my multiple of four.

Do you explain away your child’s odd habits with autism or some other condition? What quirks do you and members of your family have?

(Photo credit: Kirsten Doyle)