Just a few memories of Austin: Even in the womb, Austin was a stubborn little guy. Every ultra sound showed him in breech position and when the doctors tried to turn him - he protested and had to be taken via c-section. He decided this would be the theme of his life and was backwards on everything including shirts, swimsuits and even his underwear. Austin was diagnosed with autism at about 18 months old. He didnt have verbal skills and did not understand all that was said to him, but he was good at being persistent in getting his needs met. His autism also meant that his communication, social, and sensory processes were different from everybody else. He understood tone of voice more than words. He had initiation skills in spades - even if we couldnt figure it out, he never gave up trying to get what he needed. His sensory system changed over the years. When he was little, he couldnt stand to have clothes on his skin - which meant he had a really great all over tan. Plus, his mother had to get creative to make one piece outfits that would at least slow him down when he wanted to take his clothes off in public. That grew into a different stage as his got older. He always needed something over his head....a towel, hat, anything to block out some of the outside world that bombarded his senses. The last year or so he turned into somewhat of a vampire type and the sun really bothered him. He got creative in how to block some of it out and he would keep in his mothers shadow as they walked or run from the shade of one tree to the next, or hold his hat in different ways to keep the sun off his neck or face. His hat also came in handy as he was getting rather sneaky about hiding things he knew he wasnt supposed to have under it. Paper clips that he would sneak out of the teachers desk, bobby pins he stole out of his sisters room, and once a wire he had taken a floral ribbon apart to get. The problem was, the wire was so long that about five inches were sticking out over his ears on each side of his hat. The loved going to G&Gs (code for grandpa and grandmas), fixing all their things and saving energy by turning all the lights off for them. He would fix the sliding glass door by making sure it was closed correctly and locked (even if someone was outside and might want to come in), make sure the pillow was on the couch just right, eat bagel bites (and feed some to our dog, Daisy), hang out with Marc upstairs watching Disney movies, and check to see if anyone left any paper clips out. Austin made the bus wait every morning while he fixed all the light switches and the sink faucet. He loved to go for walks everyday with him mom and Daisy. He preferred walks when the sun was not out and love to snack on dandelions along the way. Austin would often hand his mom the picture of the car to go someplace, usually (always) Burger King - then a drive around Capital Lake. If it didnt happen fast enough, he would bring her her purse, then he would hand her the keys. And if that still didnt get any action, he would bring her shoes to her. If all of this didnt get her moving fast enough, he would grab her hand and pull her to the door. It will take a long time for our family to get used to not doing the things we had to do to keep Austin safe such as locking our doors NY style or not leaving scissors out. He never let us get bored, helped us become great friends with the drive-thru employees at Burger King, kept our dog fat and happy, gave us many opportunities to laugh, and loved to get big bear hugs and kisses. We are thankful for the time we were blessed to have with him and look forward to the day we are reunited as a family.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 21:43:37 +0000
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