the sweetest thing... | Autism PDD

Awww! Very precious!  I hope he make great strides this summer! She sounds like a sweetie and already a great reinforcer for him:)I am so glad to hear such postivie news about Donny.  That is just great....Ain't love grand?
Must be so fun to see. I'm glad he's having a good time this summer.

That's so sweet.  I'm really glad that you've found a summer placement he thrives in, after so many tough months of being out of school.

 

That is great! I'm chuckling imagining the moments...Hopefully he wont be too disappointed when the camp is over.. Donny has his first crush, and it is so completely adorable.

As I posted a few days back, Don's been going to Summer Fun, a full-
time, fully inclusive local day camp program run by our Community Living
Association and YMCA. It's been a roaring success so far, with Donny
having no behavioural issues and participating far more than anyone had
expected.

I think this is in no small part due to his wonderful camp counselor, who
he's rather smitten with. We suspected the crush by Day 3, when he was
arriving at camp with big smiles, a bit of a blush, and enthusiastic
greetings for "L", the young lady he's so taken with. At the end of Day 3,
"L" told us that Don had spontaneously held her hand while they were out
walking (he generally only holds hands with myself, his Dad, or his
grandpa), and that he'd also given her a hug.

Around the dinner table that night, Don's dad asked him if he liked "L",
and Don responded, a bit bashfully, "yeah". Dad then asked if she was
pretty, and Don glowed a bit pink and said "yeah". Dad then asked if
Donny had a crush on "L", Donny quickly looked up, looked back down at
his plate, blushed fiercely and said "yeah". I interjected, not sure if Donny
knew what a crush was, and asked if Donny had a crush on Dad. I got a
very definite, emphatic (in that ewwww, you're crazy mom voice)
"NO!"

The rest of the week lead to lots of interaction between Don and L in the
pool, with him initiating it (he usually self-isolates in the pool), and him
giving her a few hugs. While he responds to all the staff's greetings in the
morning, it's a sort of duty thing, until he sees her, at which point he
lights up, bounces on his toes, and gives a very cheerful "Hi L!".

And then tonight, when I reminded Don he has summer fun tomorrow, he
smiled the sweetest smile. I asked him what his favorite thing about
Summer Fun was, citing off examples such as kids, playing outside, and
swimming. His response? You guessed it, "L"

I don't blame Don for liking L, she's cute as a button, probably only 15lbs
heavier than him and a couple inches taller, very fun and bubbly, and all
of about 19 years old. I am so touched by his crush, because it's such a
totally NT thing. This is the age of that first sweet and innocent crush
that a little boy gets on his camp counsellor or grade school teacher. The
fact that Donny, a child who not only has autism, but also PTSD and trust
and attachment issues resulting from it, can make this kind of connection
with someone - awww geez, I'm getting all misty here! I just see it as
really significant, as this is someone who is touching my son's life in a
profound way, and quite possibly giving him one of the best summers of
his life, which he'll remember forever.

I'm so very, very happy He's so cute! Thx for the great story! And I'm sure lots of girls will have crushes on him (if not already)!!! That is so cute Aww that is soo cute! I'm glad that camp is going so well for him!Awe...that's so great!  I'm so glad he found someone at camp he feels such a bond with.  First Crush - too sweet!Awwwwwww that is precious
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