The two things are: Sad Faces and my Nice Big Pillow.
Today I will tell you about Sad Faces.
Sad Faces make me laugh and smile and feel happy in my tummy.
I say “Want Mummy to do a Sad Face”, and Mummy says “Shall I do a Happy Face instead?” and I say “No no no no no, SAD FACE!”. So Mummy makes her mouth go down a
nd sticks out her lip and does sad eyes and I laugh and laugh and jump and flap my hands.I want it again and again and I say “To do a Sad Face! To do a Sad Face!” So Mummy does a Sad Face again. I jump and flap and laugh.
I want more, more, more and I shout “SAD FACE! SAD FACE! TO DO A SAD FACE!!!” Mummy says “One more Sad Face” in the firm voice and I know that is the last one.
So I find Daddy or Grandma to do a Sad Face for me instead.
At school I ask my teacher Joanna to do a Sad Face.
At Parklands I ask my carer to do a Sad Face.
(Sometimes I scratch Lily-Rose’s face and pull out her dummy, then she does a VERY sad face and cries, and I laugh and laugh and put my fingers in my ears because it is so loud. Mummy and Daddy and Grandma are very cross with me then.)
Mummy and Daddy and Grandma want to play Happy Face but I don’t like the happy face – too many teeth and eyebrows up high and eyes that look right into mine and make me feel strange.
I think the Sad Faces make Mummy and Daddy feel sad.
But they make me feel HAPPY.
We don’t know where Zac’s current passion for “Sad Faces” came from, but it is a real obsession with him at the moment, and we have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand it is fantastic that he is actually talking and asking for what he wants, and great that this involves real human interaction and gets him out of his isolated autistic “bubble” and into our world for a few moments. But on the other hand, it is a strange twist that sadness seems to bring him such happiness!
It may be that he doesn’t actually understand the concept of sadness, but that something about the angles and contortions of a sad-looking face really appeal to his sense of humour. We just don’t know at the moment. So, for now, we will go along with the game, in moderation… and see where it ends up. The obsession will hopefully just fade away (but hopefully the talking won’t), or may turn into something more serious, in which case we will take action!
(And as for the “Nice Big Pillow”, you will hear all about that next time… so please come back soon!)
Key:
WHITE text is me, "speaking" as Zac
GREEN text is direct quotes from Zac
GREY text is background commentary or explanation
