Today's surprise: He can spell "apple!"

Life is full of surprises.


One of the things that I learned through the years of coping with my son's autism is to constantly lower my expectations.  It breaks my heart each time I have to accept the sad reality that my son have limitations and that he may have a hard time overcoming his shortcomings.  I taught myself not to expect too much from my son, to be patient with the pace of his development, and to appreciate the
progress he has made.


From time to time, though, he would surprise with a knowledge or a skill that I didn't know he had.  The first time was when he correctly identified octagon, a shape not yet included in our lessons.  I wasn't sure if he already learned it in the various therapy programs he had attended.  In February, we played with flashcards with pictures on one side and the corresponding word on another.  At that time I did know he could already read words from memory.  I tried asking him to select a word from a group of up to four cards, and he correctly identified common words such as apple, cat, bed, and bus.  I began incorporating simple reading activities in his daily routine after that.


Today, I asked him to color some pictures.  After completing a page, I would ask him to write a label for the picture.  I would tell him which letters to write.  I am now training him to write words all by himself.  His previous activities consisted of tracing the dotted letters to form the words.  The only two words he can write independently are his first name and the word "name." After coloring the apple, I instructed him to write "apple" somewhere on the page.  "Write A," I said.  He continued, "P-P--" He paused.  After a few seconds I said, "L--." He finished the word, "-E."