Monday, November 23, 2009

Some friends just suck!


Munchkin made a friend this week... She has spent countless hours talking to her friend, sitting in her sensory room with her and will even kiss and hug her goodnight. I should be delighted but... Its a vacuum cleaner! Her new friend is called Hetty and is a close relative to Henry! I can't believe the budding relationship between the two of them and am at a loss when she will kiss and hug her new buddy goodnight but will still reject her own brother and sister and have a mini meltdown if one of them even attempts to get close enough for a kiss or hug when she's heading up to bed.


Its not the first strange obsession she's had over the years. One of her first loves and still a strong contender is stones. All types, pebbles, gravel, big ones and little ones, she loves them all. She would spend countless hours playing with the stones she could take from the plant pot in my landing and would walk around with a select few in her hands. Every time I would bring her to my friends house, she would go to their modern electric fire and take out all the firestones to line them up in order of size and shade. Her husband could always tell when Munchkin had been for a visit as they would be lined up on the hearth and the plant pots would be rummaged through as they had a lovely layer of pebbles on top of the compost... (she would also have eaten some clay and compost but that's another story!)



A relatively new one, along with the hoover, is a preoccupation with clocks, timers and buttons. She seems fascinated but almost anxious with the timer we introduced in her home program, so much so that we replaced it with a visual egg timer. She now notices clocks everywhere she goes and only this weekend while at the swimming pool noticed the clock on the wall. When she is prompted to talk about swimming now, all she will say is "clock at the swimming pool". I'm uncertain how to stop her preoccupation with this though... An easier one to deal with is her wanting to lick the buttons on the television remote... I can take it from her and show her how to use it appropriately! She has only very recently learned to put her tongue past her lips so have caught her licking a variety of things but she seems to favour the remote and the telephone. I understand this is because the tongue is an extremely sensitive organ and it is something babies do to learn about their environment, however I will try to encourage her to only do this in her own home for the time being as some people may not appreciate their possessions being slobbered over!

I will watch the developing relationship between vacuum cleaner and my little girl and decide how best to use this in a positive way (hey, anything that encourages language is good no?) or as one of my facebook buddies said, "switch it on and let her drag it around with her... at least the floors will be clean!"

8 comments:

Jen said...

Imaginative play maybe? You guys could have a tea party and use the friendship to encourage imaginative play. Its the first thing I thought of, so just spitting it out. Hetty is cute though, sometimes its handy to have a friend that just listens. Hope Munchkin enjoys her and you find a way to turn it to your advantage. Great post. Jen

Jean said...

love it petunia! In the great scheme of things, a hoover is a superior thing to fall in love with than a man...you can push it around, switch it on and off at will...and it, well, hoovers!
This goes back to what I'm only recently realising, that sensory issues (and therefore Occupational Therapy) are pivotal with the asd spectrum (and may be THE heart of autism), and the hallowed Triad of Impairments are a big pile of academic poo.
I'm sure you've already thought of it, but maybe a chewey tube or an electric toothbrush might help satisfy the intense need for oral stimulation.
Hetty is terribly pretty, but not nearly as beautiful as your amazing daughter. You must be very proud of her. Neural Otherness in awesome!
XXX

Kim Wombles said...

What's not to love in that vaccuum? I have a purple Eureka I'm fond of. :-)

Popsie said...

really funny tracy that took me back to my sons watch collection and the day he took money from his piggy bank to buy a pocket watch in the jewellers to add to his collection, we had watches everywhere. he strutted up and down in a waistcoat i was made buy, checking his watch although he couln't read the time! i still have it and will keep it forever, even though his interest is now in all sorts of ammunition and guns and God knows what next! i also remember the rock collection and the removing of 'fake coal' in others houses, its so funny when you read it about someone else xxxx

jazzygal said...

hi Petunia! Great post...as ever.

You know the first thing that struck me about Hetty?? The painted on face. Just like Thomas the Tank .....and we all know how besotted our children (well, boys anyway) are with Thomas. Is Hetty the new Thomas I wonder??? Hmmm... we need Hetty toys so. And Books etc to further expand the imaginative play maybe??!! Maybe even encourage cuddles and kisses that can somehow be transferred to her brother and sister???

BTW....WiiBoy STILL collects stones to this day!! Put it to good use when I wanted white stones from the beach for my new firepalce;) xx Jazzy

Anonymous said...

Nice one! Hetty is adorable - I want one too! A friend who looks good, doesn't argue with you and cleans up after herself! Button loves stones too - especially piles of gravel that he can pick up and let run through his fingers!
Tazzy

Lisamaree said...

If it was legal, I would marry my Dyson. Also feel the same about my Mac. Is there a support group for us? xx

Clive said...

Nothing like obsessions to keep you on your toes. We have had a variety over the years - thankfully, most do diminish in time.

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