Autism In The House

I can hear my 12-year-old son Ryan mumbling under his breath, and I can tell he’s getting worked up about something. I hear, “It’s the wrong one, it’s the wrong one,” as he paces back and forth, holding his laptop in front of him. He presses buttons and repeats the phrase over and over.

A love of videos and the rigidity that comes with autism is sending him into a tailspin because he cannot find the video he’s looking for. Ryan is obsessed with videos; on this day, he is obsessed with the Penguins of Madagascar and not just any Penguins of Madagascar.  Today, he is obsessed with one episode titled “The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel.”  It seems like it’d be easy to find, considering just about every video ever made is available in one form or another, and he is a master of YouTube, after all. 

Where Could It Be?

Well, he did his detective work in this instance, and there it was!  Only it wasn’t…it said it was, but it was the WRONG VIDEO!  Oh, what a cruel world!  Who in their right mind would put up Season 2 Episode 4 with the title “The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel” and then show “Call of Doody?”  The tears and frustration of trying it over and over but it’s always WRONG!  And then he finds another one…oh but it’s only the 43-second trailer for “The Lost Treasure of the Golden Squirrel,” not the full episode. More tears, more frustration, more repeating the mantra, “It’s the wrong video.” 

I’ve become a bit of a video sleuth myself, so I say, “Let’s try Amazon Prime,” only to find, “This episode is currently unavailable.” It's not available to rent or buy unless I want to buy the entire 56-episode set from Season 2 for $89.00. No, I do not.

On To Plan B

Ryan then suggests the library, which is a brilliant suggestion. The library!  Oh, but the library is closed because it’s a holiday.  More tears, more pacing and repeating. At least the mantra has changed from “It’s the wrong one” to “the library is closed, I’m sorry, the library is closed.”  We look it up at the library to see if we can reserve it but they don’t have that episode.  I’m beginning to wonder if this episode exists or has been deleted by the NSA due to the highly confidential nature of the Golden Squirrel Secret Weapons Program.

What we need is a distraction from the tears and frustration, something to break Ryan out of the loop. My wife Diane whisks him off to the airport, his happy place, and I am still searching in vain for the lost episode. 

Jackpot!

 I stumbled across a random YouTube video that shows the opening credits to every single Penguins of Madagascar episode for every season. Seriously, who has the time or inclination to record and post that? Whoever it is, I am forever in their debt because I tried season 2, and TADA! I hit Squirrel Gold only six trailers in and discovered that the episode is number 7, NOT number 2 (the aforementioned Call of Doody). Search for Season 2, episode 7, and yes! It’s there!

Check That Box and Move On

Ryan comes home. I’m the hero, and after all of the tears, mumbling, and misery, he forwards to that one certain scene where the penguins fall down or fly up or crash into something or whatever was in his head that he HAD TO SEE in order to make the world right for him on this day, at this moment.

Not every day is like this; most are blissfully tear-free and filled with smiles, laughter, hugs, and kisses from our boy. I remind myself that his childlike nature will keep him wanting hugs well into his teenage years, will keep him excited at the littlest joys, and will keep reminding me to live in the moment and to be present for every challenge or triumph that comes our way.  

And so it goes with Autism in the house.

Regina Stoops is an award winning storyteller, comedian, writer, producer, MS Warrior, and Autism Mom living with her wife and three kids in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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