"All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost."
~J.R.R.Tolkien

"It is with the utmost affection for my own children and autistic children everywhere that I share these stories."
~Scott

Sunday, October 3, 2010

On the Spectrum #92: Who's Your Alpha?

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I assume we're not the only ones with a wanderer at meal time?

Jacob has a habit of getting up about fifty-seven times a meal.  So he's always the last one finished.  He's also the ONLY one who ever leaves food unattended (Michael's learned) so Haley pretty much knows who to camp out near at dinner time.

You'd be surprised how often this still happens. LOL

Oh, and... first appearance of Haley, our dog.  We've had her since Michael was about one and a half, before we knew he was autistic, and just after Jacob was born.  She's a Border Collie - Australian Cattle Dog mix.  She's a good dog (apart from her table manners) but she hasn't really figured into any of the stories so far, so I've never drawn her in.  (Also because she's kind of hard to draw! LOL)

7 comments:

jazzygal said...

Hi there visiting via autismherd!

Hahahaha!! Love it! I really like your cartoons...well done!
xx Jazzy

Scott Lynn said...

Thanks so much!

Stephanie said...

I can definitely relate--though, we don't have a dog. If one of my boys leaves their food unattended, it's likely to be a brother who snags it. (We can't even get our kids to eat at the same time, let alone the table. *sigh*)

Scott Lynn said...

For the longest time, ours either wouldn't sit at the same table, or Michael would have to build the "great-wall of condiments" in front of him so he wouldn't have to watch Jacob eat. But in his case it turned out to be a phase. And we don't really see much (if any) of that anymore. (Sometimes he'll tell Jacob WAHT to eat - which sets him off - so we're trying to teach Jacob the phrase, "Mind your own business!" LOL.) But Jacob still can't sit still for more than a few seconds any OTHER time, and many about 5 minutes tops at meals. He's better about it at restaurants (McD's, BigBoy) but I don't think he'd do well at all somewhere he would really have to WAIT.

Stephanie said...

My boys to do okay at restaurants, family gatherings, and school, but home is their refuge and at home they feel more comfortable doing what works for them instead of following prescribed rules. We've encouraged that in a way, but it'd be nice to have a family meal.

It's a tradeoff. They do eat more at home, and getting food into them (versus controlling how & where they eat it) is our priority.

Scott Lynn said...

Yeah, I can see how that could work out. And let's face it: What ISN'T a tradeoff, right? ;)

Stacey C. said...

Just substitute my little girl for your dog and you have my life! She is obsessed with eating everyone's food before she'll touch her own. And since my boy also gets up from the table about a million times a meal, his food usually gets swiped first.