Very Connected Despite the Obsessions

Despite his obsession to play with the new GPS (yes, we did buy a portable GPS), Jonathan is very connected. Also, today he showed a great deal of empathy. He hit both Vanessa and me by accident, and he immediately apologized with a look in his eyes that showed how worried he was that he hurt us, following by an "are you okay?" question.

This morning he obsessed with the GPS. After an hour, I had a nervous breakdown (I have not started RDI, so this is still hard for me) and I told him that he had to stop playing with the GPS. He cried for about 2 minutes, sat with Daddy and a few later started drawing. He did not forget the GPS, but he was complying with my demand.

We went to have breakfast and I brought two books that contain stickers and the shapes where they belong and Jonathan really liked it. We played together for about 30 minutes until the food arrived. It was great because I had tried in numerous occasions to get him interested in drawing or doing stuff with me at restaurants, and he always got bored quickly and asked for my phone. He used both his imagination and visual motor skills to place the stickers in the correct place and had a blast with it.

In the afternoon he obsessed a bit with the GPS again, but I gave him a timeline and that helped. He transitioned easily once the 30 minutes were up. We took the kids to a local park/farm. It was too late to see the farm animals, but they enjoyed being out. They watched horses and played at a playground. Jonathan even got interested in what a little girl was doing and stared to imitate and then played. Very nice.





When we got home, we told Jonathan that there was no more GPS for today. It must have registered quite well because he didn't ask for it at all. The kids played among themselves the rest of the evening.

The following setting was very spontaneous. I don't know who decided to play like this (possibly Vanessa), but they really enjoyed passing the ball to each other. It was great to watch how Jonathan was paying close attention, looked at Vanessa right into her eyes to read her cues, had very good reflexes to catch the ball, and simply looked happy.

Very connected all day. Lots of questions. Communicated needs and wants very well. He spoke in his jargon type language once in a while, but I would say "use your words" and he would translate what he said to English.