Having a child on the autism spectrum is challenging most times, but once in a while, it can be quite interesting too.
I use the term “interesting” loosely. Interesting because, well, it can be too much to handle at times.
Thing 1 is obsessed with dinosaurs. OBSESSED. Apparently, this obsession is not new for children on the spectrum. I was told by his doctor that there are certain topics that the autistic child may be interested in; space, dinosaurs, the human body. Just to name a few.
According to the website: https://www.myaspergerschild.com,
Children with High-Functioning Autism and Aspergers latch onto topics and interests that are often considered a hobby by others. However, they develop an intense interest in the subject and may become experts in it. Some obsessions involve physical collections while others are fact-based.
It started with the mouse with the clubhouse when he was 2. Then he moved on to the yellow car with the insect name, then the 4 turtles living underground, before landing on the friendly neighbourhood superhero wearing a mask. You know, the blue and red dude. That was quite a period in our life. He was climbing and jumping off the sofa, perching on the armrest, trying to climb walls… Basically, as soon as he wore his mask he was no longer Thing 1, and we should not call him by his name, rather his character.
We took it in stride, thinking it was just a phase. Mind you, this was when he was undiagnosed, so we thought it was a normal boy thing.
Nothing prepared us for the dinosaurs though.
I honestly don’t remember how it started. Whether it was from tv, looking at pictures, reading some basic facts. I have no idea. I only remember him just wanting to know everything and anything about it. Maybe, just maybe it was a chance encounter watching Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous on tv.
I remember me getting lost with all the facts he was telling me. It was too much information at too little time. Ankylosaurus, Diplodocus, Ceratosaurus, Allosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus… SAY WHAT?
This mama is only familiar with the Mighty T-Rex. The Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Brachiosaurus. You know, the ones we saw in “The Land Before Time” movies. The cute ones.
Did you know that the T-Rex is not even the biggest dinosaur? Or that the Pterodactyl was not even a dinosaur, but a pterosaur?
He wanted books. All the books. Then he got picky about the books and chose the ones that were interesting to him. (Thank goodness for discount bookstores that have a huge selection of dinosaur books). He wanted the excavation kits. He wanted models, big and small. He wanted the HM toys from the big M fast-food chain.
Most of all, he wanted someone to listen to his fact findings. Teachers and friends at school call him “the dinosaur expert” which he is very proud of to be.
It is interesting most days. It’s nice to be able to learn new things without actually having to read. But the wealth of information he has can be quite overwhelming. One day when I thought about it, I wondered if this is how he feels when we stuff information down his throat and he is unable to process it as quickly as he should?
We have dinosaurs everywhere. In every room, on the dining table, in the kitchen, there is a dinosaur either physically in toy form, drawings, or books. I am always encountering a dinosaur of some form wherever I go.
How far do we support him? Is it a phase he will exit as quickly as he entered it? Do we give in to this obsession? He’s already got a list of dinosaurs he wants to add to his collection since his birthday is only weeks away.
To hold back means we might be curbing his enthusiasm but to give in would we be giving in too much?
Such a tough decision to make.
SuriyaNoor is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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