Berenstain Bears...Again

Kalisha is a reader..extraordinaire. She reads incessantly; every day, at various, pre-scheduled times of the day. Her schedule, not mine.
She vascillates between teen books and children's books. She rarely reads one 'stand-alone' book, but nearly always is reading a series of some kind.
I have told in previous posts how she will read 6 books at a time; reading a chapter in each one before moving on to the next one and always in the same sequence. Heaven help you if you knock her stack of 6 over and restack them in the incorrect order. She doesn't get angry; just gives you a look that says, 'I can't believe you just did that.'

A week ago, she decided to re-read all the Berenstain Bear books. First, she checked out all the library had. These were hardcover books.

Then she asked me to retrieve all her softcover ones from the box in the attic. Yikes.
There were 27 of them. I handed them to her and she immediately started reading them.

Did she read a few each day? Are you kidding? Noooooo. She read all 27 that evening.

Why? I have no idea. I asked but she said she needed to get them read. Do I care? No. Each one contains only approximately 700-800 words, but still 800 words times 27 books is over 21,000 words. That's half of a novel.

AND, she reads them aloud. In the morning, she asked, "Do I sound hoarse to you?"

Yes, but we have been here before.

If you are reading this post and feeling as though you have read the exact same thing before and wondering why I would write about it again, here is the reason: This blog is about living in an autistic world and that definitely includes doing the same things over and over.



Retaining History

I realize you may be tired of reading about football teams, but today we are traveling a different road, although we start out with a football team.
Yesterday, (out of the blue):

 Kalisha asked, "Are we Patriots?"

Me: "Patriots? Patriots? Really, Kalisha, what kind of question is that? I know the Colts are playing the Patriots on Sunday, but have you suddenly decided to be a Patriot fan?"

Kalisha: "No, I don't mean the football team. I mean are we patriots?"

Me: (a but confused) "I guess that depends on what you mean by a patriot."

Kalisha: "Well, in the American Girl story and movie about Felicity, she and her family were patriots. But they couldn't drink tea because that was what the people loyal to the king drank. And Felicity couldn't be friends with her best friend anymore because her friend's parents weren't patriots."

Me: "Yes, the book takes place before and during the Revolutionary War. Some people wanted to be free of England and some still wanted to be ruled by England. The Patriots supported their country and the fight for freedom."

Kalisha: "So....being a Patriot is a good thing, unless it's the football team."

Me: "You make me think and laugh, Kalisha."

Kalisha read that story 10 years ago, but remembered the fundamentals. I'm sure the football team, the New England Patriots brought the thoughts back to the forefront of her mind, but she has a great memory, is curious about what words mean and absorbs much more than what I sometimes give her credit for.

*Caution, Parents: If Kalisha retains what she reads and sees in movies, you need to be ever vigilant about what your kiddos are watching and reading.

Reading EVERY Word

Kalisha loves to read. She currently has at least 15 books checked out from the library.

 The stack on the table are the ones she is currently reading. I have written in the past how she reads 5-6 books at a time; one chapter in each one and then she starts with the first one again when it is her next 'reading time.'
She has certain times during the day when she has to read.
She also likes to read aloud. That is ok with me, most of the time. If we are watching TV together, she reads aloud during commercials, then she closes the book until the next commercial. If it is a program she doesn't care about watching, she reads to herself between commercials so I can watch it. I don't watch many programs, but as we watched the Colts game yesterday, she would read during every commercial. It is a bit annoying but probably better than the commercials anyway.

 

The ones she hasn't started yet are in her bookbag. They are there because her mother gets tired of seeing 15 books on the floor by the chair or couch.

If you are regular readers of this blog, you already know those facts. However, last week, she amazed me. She really does like words and perhaps the sound of the words swirling in her head.
I purchased a paperback for me to read this Christmas season. It is 4 stories, loosely connected from one generation to the next. It has no pictures, very small print and 397 pages. Kalisha asked if she could read it. I said, "Of course, but it might be boring for you." (I had not read it yet so I was hoping there weren't any steamy love scenes in it)

I really didn't think she would finish it and I wasn't sure if she would 'get it.'

When she used to read books I had read, such as Little House on the Prairie and Boxcar Children, I would occasionally quiz her to see if she had retained any of it. She could nearly always, give me a fairly accurate, Cliff Notes version.

She stuck with this book. She read every word, probably 50,000 at least. I was impressed. I read it one afternoon (when I start, I finish, if it holds my interest) and later asked her a few questions about some of the events. She didn't know the answers. That's when I realized part of her reading is just to see and hear the words in her head, even if the sentence structure may be difficult. This novella would have been difficult for her because due to the time periods, there were words she has probably never seen or heard. I praised her for finishing it. I don't think I would read that many chapters of something I didn't understand. It would be similar to reading a medical journal for most of us. She is my daughter for sure; she loves words. YAY

Harder Than I Thought

If you are a 'regular' reader of this blog, you probably already know I am in the throes of writing a book about Kalisha's first 30 years. She won't be 30 until February, 2014, but I'm counting it anyway.

I remember each detail with such clarity, it seems it would be a piece of cake to jot it all down and be done with it. Au contraire. At least for me, it hasn't been. I've actually been talking about writing it for the last 10 years, but never made much progress. I guess God thought I needed a few more experiences to write about, so now, I am doing this, in earnest. (Quickly, before God throws in a few more 'experiences.')

I have 3 people who have graciously agreed to read it for me. Not to edit; just to tell me if anyone would be interested in reading it and do they think it would help others?
The goal was, of course, to write material so other parents/guardians of special needs individuals would benefit from the knowledge I have gained; many times by doing it the hard way.

I realize there is so-o-o much more information available now than there was in the early 80s. You would think anything a parent would want to know could be 'Googled' and there wouldn't be a need for a book. Possibly true.  I think about that quite often as I write. I do believe, however, there are some thoughts, ideas, experiences which can only be learned or avoided by listening to someone who has been there. In the end, it will be what it will be. Either a book which can help or just a good read. I will let God decide that one.

I am writing about amazing things, humorous things, scary things and horrible things. I hope to have it done by the end of October. I laugh and cry as I remember some events. Quite often, I have to ask for Kalisha's input. Ex.: "Kalisha, what grade were you in when the girl got mad at you, kicked you and threw your glasses in the trash in the locker room?"  She has the answer immediately and the girl's name, too. (She is now a friend of Kalisha's on FB).

It is also difficult sometimes to pick and choose. No one wants to read about every little occurrence, but some are important to understand what it was like and some are just downright funny. Cut it out? Leave it in? Oy.
Anyway, I am plodding on. I have to hurry or I will be too old to remember what I'm doing or why. AND I won't have enough time to spend all the zillions of dollars I make from this book. Right...I will probably be able to spend it all in one trip to Mc Donald's. LOL