Hi. My name is Ava Jolie. I am 2 years and 3 months old. I have autism, apraxia and sensory/auditory processing disorders.
I am a happy toddler. I love my toys. I love baby dolls - they are fun to hug and feed. I love Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby. I am a really good singer and I sing all day long. I play music on my keyboard and I love to play the cymbals and bang on a drum, too.
Eating is fun. I like my food - especially broccoli, string beans, cheddar cheese, macaroni and cheese and cherries. I stick raspberries on my thumb and eat them. I also play with my food, it is partly because of my sensory issues and partly because PLAYING WITH FOOD IS FUN! Almost everything ends up in my mouth. I eat inedibles like fuzz, paper and cardboard. I love my bottle and my binky, too.
My mommy is my favorite person in the world. She gives me comfort and she is so fun to cuddle. We play "peek a boo" and sing together a lot. Daddy puts me to bed and gives me big hugs. I love all my grandparents, too. My cousins are a lot of fun as are my aunts and uncles. I have good buddies too. All of them are very cool kids. We like hanging out and we really don't mind sharing our toys.
Well, I have to admit that I do not talk anymore. I try -- but it is hard for me. I speak my own language -- Ava Joliese. I have no clue why no one else knows what I am talking about. I used to say words - when I was about 12 months old. I said, "duck, "hi", "baby", "quack-quack", "Abby" and "lamb-ie". Abby was for Abby Cadabby and Lamb-ie was a cute lamb sock puppet. Then I stopped talking when I was around 15 months old. I stopped looking at Mommy and Daddy, too. I started running up and down the hallway, over and over again. I still do that. It's a lot of fun. I also like to "stim". I open my mouth wide and tense my fists. It makes me feel good. I have no idea why -- but it does. I "stim" when I am really excited or happy. I saw the lobster tank at the supermarket the other day and I had a "stim fest" in the shopping cart. I saw a puppy the other day at the park and it was "stimming time" for me!
I know sign language. I can sign, "give me" and "more". I can do the sign for "cracker" and "candy". Sometimes I say those words -- sometimes, I don't. I call Mommy "Ni Ni" and Daddy is "Da-da-dee". I can point -- but mostly I cry when I want something. I don't cry a lot, only when I cannot express myself.
I have to be honest with you. I don't like my therapists -- I shouldn't say that -- I DO like them. But I hate the things they make me do. I just want to play on my own-- watch Sesame Street or Yo Gabba Gabba -- or snuggle with Mommy. But those broads annoy me. "Ava do this. Ava do that." Oh -- SHUT UP and leave me alone with my toys! I sometimes cry when they come to the door. Don't get me wrong, they are really nice ladies -- but they cramp my style.
I have a lot of therapy too - although Mommy, Daddy and the doctor say I need more. I currently get 22 hours a week. Supposedly all this therapy will help me, but right now, it is annoying to me. Mommy says she hates to hear my cry. Mostly, I cry when I don't get enough sleep, which is often. The doctor said I have a sleep disorder. I wake up in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep unless I play REALLY loud and jump up and down in my crib. I have a party with my stuffed animals! I don't care if Mommy and Daddy come and get me, I just wanna party! Wihooo! But all the partying during the night makes me REALLY tired during the day -- and I have to be up early to see those damn therapists. Don't they know I need my beauty sleep? When I am tired, it is hard to learn and I get frustrated. Mommy and Daddy are really tired, too.
Things are not always so easy for me. I get overwhelmed in crowds and when there is a lot of mixed noises or bright fluorescent lighting. I love the sound of running water -- but a noisy, dark restaurant scares me. I get frightened of lots of things, too - mostly images or funny voices in cartoons. But I guess most kids do, too. I am willing to make the best of any situation -- but sometimes my body does not agree. I need hugs and tight spaces or I feel uneasy. I love to run really fast and watch my feet or the sky in open spaces, but if I stand still in an open space, I get scared. I hear Mommy, but I can't understand her sometimes. She has to show me things in order to get me to understand.
This is my life and overall, I am pretty happy. I just wish more people understood me -- and I can tell them how I feel.
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Comments (3)
She's adorable!
She really is.