Daily life stories

I never really went into detail with Logan and his diagnosis, and I thought I'd touch a bit on what Logan is like.
We all know by my posts the last THREE years (can you believe it) that Logan is a very sweet natured little boy. (most of the time, like all kids)
And I know I've mentioned his quirks before, but I'd like to give you an idea of what I actually mean by quirks.

Logan has a digital clock in his room and when he was 3 we told him that he couldn't get out of bed until 7:00 am. (This was BEFORE Miles was born. Criminy, with Miles we'll be happy if it says 6:00!!)
That was a rule that he learned. He's good with rules, if they don't change.
To this day, if he wakes up at it's 6:something, he'll wait in bed until 7:00 on the nose. And he always keeps a mental record of what time he wakes up.

I took him to the doctor the other day because I was afraid he had Strep throat. I made the appt early in the morning before he woke up. By the time we got there(11:30) my fear of strep was gone, and it was more of a checkup.
I told the nurse that he slept for 14 hours last night and didn't wake up until 9:30.
He interrupted, "Mom, I woke up at 9:22!!"
And yes, he did.

He's a numbers guy. When the numbers are in order, he's a happy. He's comfortable with them. He experiences life in numbers.
He's smart. Like, way smarter than what he should be as a preschooler. He's friends with a 1st grader down the road and he teaches HER math. She's in awe that her little sister's PREschool friend is teaching her math. According to her, "He's smarter than the smart girl in class!" ;)

He's ambidextrous, but now shows a preference of writing with his left. It's so strange to see him grab the pencil with his left hand. I've never been around a lefty before. It seems so unnatural to me! ha ha! But he sometimes switches the pencil to his right hand when he's on the right side of the paper. Of course, we just let him do his thing and never question what hand he wants to use. He uses scissors in his right hand. He also bats the ball like a righty though. I think we'll have him try to bat like a lefty this year and see what feels better??

He has rituals.
He must get dressed in a certain order.
He must clean his body in a certain order.
He must be in bed by a certain time, but not any earlier than a certain time.

He's insanely good at strategic video games. The kind where I cave under pressure. I hate them. He LOVES them.

He doesn't eat worth a darn. I'm in the debating stage of getting help from the food clinic. The thing is though, he likes routine and a schedule. If I make the same routine foods on a very regular basis, he'll eat and he'll grow. But did you hear about that mom who allowed her son to eat only toast I believe his his entire life basically? When I heard that story I thought, how HORRIBLE! But then I have this little boy who would live on as many things as fingers on one hand. It's such a situation because I don't want to make it an issue, but it IS an issue.
Anyway, another post for another day.

Regarding food. He likes routine. He'll eat PB J's with MY bread and MY jelly and MY peanut butter. No one Else's.
He'll eat Fish sticks. Not regular fish or fish patties.
He'll eat corn dogs, not hot dogs.
He'll eat turkey sandwiches, on buns only. MY buns. It must have ranch dressing, mozzarella cheese and tomato's on it. No more, no less.
He'll eat waffles.

He will NOT eat anything mushy, and this includes cereal in milk. Which is hard for him because he really wants to like cereal and sometimes he'll try it, but he just can't stand the texture of mushy cereal.

He doesn't play with toys. We could clear out the house and the only one who would be bothered is Miles.
He hoards things. Paper things. The main thing he hoards are the backs of present boxes he gets. You know how action figures come in a cardboard with a plastic cover over the 'guy'? Well, on the back is more pictures of MORE guys. We have to save them all.

At night, we don't read your typical story books. We read learning books. 100 things about space, all about your 'food tube'...how germs spread...how babies are made (yes, it's not graphic at all, but it does talk about a sperm and egg) anything that he can learn bits of info to store in his head, he enjoys.
Oh, and bookmarks have to be put in in a very ritualistic way. They can only stick out so far, but they have to stick out a certain amount. There is no in between. There is right and there is wrong.

He remembers crazy things. Just Friday afternoon he told me he knew his friend Evan's phone number. Kids this age usually are good learning their OWN phone number. He blurted it out, and he was right. This was 4 hours after he got home from school, so he wasn't just repeating it from a conversation 5 minutes earlier, you know?

Basically, everything must be in sync, in order, and follow a pattern.
Oh patterns, he sees them in everything. He points them out and I am amazed at what he can see.

Life with Logan is structured. WAY more structured than my liking, but it's OK! I'd love to explore more with meals, but I also know that it takes him out of his element. I'd love to be more spur of the moment, but I also know that it's hard for him to do something that wasn't on the morning list of activities.

I'm excited for him to go to school, and I think he'll have a great time meeting new friends. I know he'll have his problem times, but you know what? So will other kids who are considered 'neuro-typical', you know?
He's definitely high functioning, but prefers structure.
If the teacher gives them orders, he'll follow them.
He's super social and LOVES to have friends around all of the time.
I think they will just learn that Logan is a bit quirky, but not bad.
I see his future as SO bright.
Perhaps I'm seeing life through rose colored glasses, but that's OK too.

1 out of 150. It's a crazy statistic.