_When Curtis started out in public school, the socials workers " extra clothes closet" made no sense to him. Why on earth would he ever wear someone else clothes? Why would anyone for that matter? This thinking is very typical for autistic individuals; what's theirs is theirs and what is not - well, is not. To wear these clothes would have been a big deal.  He had a back up outfit of his own at school for mud slips or accidents and that was all we really could ask for and needed when he was in kindergarten. This week, Curtis had a major fall during recess time in a mud puddle without back-up clothing.

Slowly over the past two years, Curtis has become more accustom to the idea of wearing someone elses clothes, either because of mud stains, some accident, or it being cold outside and needing to wear an extra layer of clothes during recess. This past week he took a fall in a mud puddle and came running up to me, drenched down to his underwear and socks. He had this look on his face that could have either gone one way or another and I quickly gave him a high five and said, "Well, I can tell you were having fun - its no big deal!" He took that comment and agreed with me; averting two potential "big deal" disasters, the fall itself and wearing clothing that didn't belong to him. I told him his mom would put the jeans in the wash that night, and we just need to get you quickly changed so you can finish you game of tag.

Once he was changed clothes he came flying outside ready to talk to his friends about what just happened and was wondering if they could spot the "difference" in his appearance - turning this mishap into a game helped him connect to a concept that once freaked him out. He ran up to his one of his good girl friends and kept inching his leg closer and closer to her trying to show her his new pants in a very sly manner. The clothing change was a huge deal in his mind, I mean, these were someone else's clothes. He was turning something that used to make no sense to him into social talk and it was a small, but huge success and moment of growth for Curtis.

I think its important to share stories like this because coming from someone that works all day long with a child who has autism it is easy to get frustrated with their "quirks" or constant resistance - I sure do. However, these kids are constantly moving in the right direction and sometimes it takes years to notice such leaps, but sometimes it takes just a few days. They come around - they always do with patience, time, love and some "no big deal" attitude."

Caron, 1:1 School Support