In the morning, Mummy and Daddy and Luca say "Happy birthday, Zac!", and sing the Happy Birthday song. Mummy says "How old are you now Zac? Are you 7 years old, or are you 8 years old?" I say Are you 8 years old, and Mummy says "Yes! Good talking Zac!"
Mummy and Daddy take me to the garden and there is a little bouncy castle... I love to bounce. I taste the bright colours, blue, orange and green. I want to bite and bite until I hear the Pop!
Grandma gives me a present. It is blue. I stroke it and pat it with my hands. It is smooth and shiny. Mummy says "Open it, Zac" and she tears the paper. I put the bits of paper in my mouth and taste and chew... I spit them out again.Inside is a book, smooth and squashy. I rub the book with my fingers and then pick it up and bang it over and over again. It feels nice, like my Maisy book and my pig book.
At school there are little chocolate cakes and the Happy Birthday song again.
After school Mummy and Daddy take me and Luca and Lily-Rose to Kidzone and say it is my party. There are lots of children and lights and noise and more coloured presents. Mummy takes the paper off but I want it to stay ON. More squashy books to bang.
I run and touch the wall, climb the slope, down the slide, past the ball-pit, touch the green mat, and back to the wall and begin again, over and over. This makes me feel safe and happy.
Time for tea and the little room fills with children. So much noise, fingers in my ears. A blue cake with Thomas the Tank Engine and flames that make my face warm. The Happy Birthday song again. "Blow out the candles, Zac!" says Daddy. Blow out the candles, Zac, I say, and suddenly everyone blows, breath on my face, and the flames are gone. Chicken nuggets and chips... I bite, spit out and throw my chips at the children.After tea, I climb up high and there is music and I dance and smile. Soon the children are gone, and I run and laugh and bang my book, and the noise in my ears is all better. But Mummy and Daddy say my party is Finished and it is time for home.
Daddy says "Zac, did you have a nice birthday? Yes or No?" And I say Nice birthday, Yes!Birthday celebrations are always a tricky time for Zac. Changes to his routine, lots of noise, and even the presents can all be a source of distress for him. He still doesn't really understand presents, and he doesn't play with toys, and has no interest in material possessions whatsoever. But he does enjoy banging books! (More on that in a future post...) So this year we asked everyone to get him a squashy book, which he seemed quite happy with. He also enjoyed the bouncy castle in the garden - though it won't last long - he always eventually bites through anything inflatable!
All in all, he seemed to enjoy his special day, and for us that means mission accomplished!
Key:
WHITE text is me, "speaking" as Zac
GREEN text is direct quotes from Zac
GREY text is background commentary or explanation
Im really glad he enjoyed his day. :) It is so hard in getting it right with our children. and you pulled it off!
ReplyDeleteI remember on Lou lou's birthday,it was her 2nd as it was just before she was diagnosed...well we had noticed she enjoyed balloons previously so we filled the room up with hellium balloons. she came into the front room and looked really scared :( She wasnt expecting it, and we didnt know that change and sensory problems could upset her then. We know now! :)
Happy birthday Zac. I can't believe the boys from Boys Club are all soon to be eight years old. With love from us all. xxxx Charis
ReplyDeleteTracy, you really learn from those early experiences, don't you!
ReplyDeleteI remember Zac's 3rd birthday - it was just pre-diagnosis - a picnic party by the river. Children came up to Zac to give him presents and he had no clue what presents were and wanted to just throw them up in the air and watch them spin! His behaviour was so bizarre, I spent the whole party trying not to cry and making excuses for Zac: he's "just a bit tired", etc.
That event made us push harder to be taken seriously by health professionals (after over 2 years of trying to get someone to believe us that something was wrong), and we were finally seen by a consultant and diagnosis took about 5 minutes!
Charis, I can't believe it either! I do miss those days! xxx