I Love Water

I love water; it’s something I’ve always been attracted to; one of my favorite activities in the summer or really anytime of year is swimming or snorkeling-I love to snorkel. If I’m anywhere near water, I’m gonna be in it. I love to go out in boats. I love the rain on cool spring days and on chilly fall days. But I’m not crazy about cold, rainy days that turn to ice.

I’ve never been crazy about ice.

I do like snow though. Not the craptacular, stinky, flurry activity. If you’re going to snow, then by golly, snow me in up to the roof on a day when I have nothing better to do than to be excited. We had a snow storm on my birthday one year and I couldn’t have thought of a better birthday present than a snow storm on my birthday.

Snow in and of itself is a beautiful thing. It covers everything in a silver-white icing and covers up all the indiscretions of the neighbor’s yard so I don’t have to look at their garbage that is thrown from one end to the other. Why do people use their yards as garbage dumps? Why can’t they show a minute worth of pride?

However I digress.

Booga loves to swim, and autistic people are attracted to water. Most children are, but for some reason autistic people love it with a passion that is really different and kind of dangerous. And for this reason, I wouldn’t run out and buy an Olympic sized pool for your child with Autism just yet. As was stated by this article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2477826/the_risk_of_drowning_in_children_with.html, and published in a blog in the social area of the Autism Speaks website: http://autismspeaksnetwork.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drowning-leading-cause-of

Drowning is a leading cause of injury related death in autistic children; so you must be cautious with your autistic child around water.

Anyway, Booga loves to swim, I’ve mentioned that before, he is an excellent swimmer and the reason that he is attracted to the water is because he is touched by it and surrounded by it and can feel the pressure of it but it isn’t invasive. It engulfs him but doesn't secure him. Not like a hug. And it's not a human touch which is so often accompanied by a judgment or a restraint. And water has a rhythm to it; it has a consistency that attracts autism. It's like a repeating verse in a song.

And this is me noticing this- I noticed this- let that coalesce in your brain for a moment and then go on…. I noticed this- So what’s not to say that we are all somewhat affected by autism in some sense or another. Not that all of us are autistic but there are things that everyone does that is similar to Autism. Okay, so, if that is the case, then does that mean that when people start stereotyping the autistic that they are being hypocritical on some level?

Who doesn’t have compulsive tendencies?

I’m a germaphobe….Not to the point where I have to have every inch of my house antiseptic but to the point where if you touch the toilet or the trash can, raw beef or chicken, the cat liter, the cat box, pet the cat, or mess with the cats brush- you’re washing your hands-right now!

That drives my children nuts. And they think I’m a neat freak.

And I’m not, that would be my brother Bob. I don’t mop my kitchen floor every night with the Swifter. Although, if there wasn’t so much stuff on my kitchen and dining room floor I probably would.

So we’re all a little autistic to a certain degree.