The oddness of autism

So I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Fiona wanted to talk with Chet and I had promised this would happen at thenext phone call.  Which was tonight, and I duly made sure Chet was available.  I primed him ahead of time.  I suggested he talk about his new favorite movie "The Tooth Fairy" as I was reasonably sure Fiona would have seen and enjoyed the movie.  And if she hadn't there wasn't anything really inappropriate that he could say.

I am relieved and proud (in equal measure) to say it worked!  Chet left to his own devices would probably not have been able to carry the conversation.  He is baffled by Fiona and unable to understand the depth of her cognitive delays.  His strength is his intellect, his weakness, an inability to understand emotions and therefore her extreme sensitivities in that regard make for a very touchy situation.  But they giggled companionably about the movies scenes, dished about the star, etc.  It was amazing.  I had Chet talk right after me so that at the appropriate time I could give him the high sign and he could end things with "KC really wants to talk to you now." 

So hours later, when I was getting ready for my shower, the bathroom door flew open and crashed into me.  One would have to see how small our bathroom is to understand how this could happen, but as I prised the door knob out of my naked back Chet stuck his head in.  "Oh there you are." he said.  I said I always took my shower at this time.  "Well I didn't know that" he said. "And I wanted to know where you were.  You weren't in any of the other rooms so I looked here."  You'd have to live with Chet to understand the logic to that.  Any of the other kids would just say "Hey where's Ooma?"  Chet will always burst into a room looking for me, usually   asking his question before fully entering the room. Tonight he didn't have anything to ask, he just decided he needed to know where I was.  It is indeed part of the oddness of autism.  He has no real grasp that just walking into a room where the door is closed is considered less than cool in our society.  Luckily I am usually the one he has burning questions for and I am not all that modest (and pretty quick at grabbing a towel or stepping behind a curtain..It is the same impulsivity that kept him from safely stopping and checking for traffic before crossing the street until he was well into his teens. I figure we'll master this social skill by his 30's.