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(New page: Some things we have learned or discovered about Josh: ==Abilities== * He is primarily left-handed (especially writing, though in some other tasks too). * He can sign his name on reques...) |
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Some things we have learned or discovered about [[Josh]]: | Some things we have learned or discovered about [[Josh]]: | ||
==Abilities== | ==Abilities== | ||
* | * Can easily put on his own clothes and shoes, but sometimes gets things backwards (and cannot tie laces) | ||
* He can | * Knows how to replace a missing lightbulb (on his own initiative, he pulled out some boxes of replacement bulbs, identified the correct one to go in his overhead light, and installed it himself) - he picked this up from observing (was not trained) | ||
* He can recite his home phone number on request, though not very intelligibly. | * He can write his first name on request. He can also type it; he recognizes the idea of a computer log-in screen, and will type his name as the username and password without prompting. | ||
* He can recite his home phone number on request, though not very intelligibly (rather quick & garbled). | |||
* He can figure out the rules of most computer games just by playing them long enough, though sometimes he will get frustrated and lose interest in a game before figuring it out. | * He can figure out the rules of most computer games just by playing them long enough, though sometimes he will get frustrated and lose interest in a game before figuring it out. | ||
* He is very good with arcade-style computer games, especially once he figures out the rules. He has the household all-time high score on PCBert (a [[wikipedia:Q*bert|Q*bert]] clone) and is a genuine Pinball Wizard. He also likes Kolf (on Linux) and | * He is very good with arcade-style computer games, especially once he figures out the rules. He has the household all-time high score on PCBert (a [[wikipedia:Q*bert|Q*bert]] clone) and is a genuine Pinball Wizard. He also likes Kolf (on Linux) and spent some time trying to figure out Klondike (card game); he apparently got tired of this eventually and moved on. | ||
** When he can't figure out the rules, he will often play with his own goals in mind (making a particular thing happen, etc.) | |||
* He has figured out how to operate the microwave (to reheat his leftovers) just from watching us. | * He has figured out how to operate the microwave (to reheat his leftovers) just from watching us. | ||
* He figured out where the plug goes in the back of the DVD player on his own; we just hand him the cord now. (Confiscating it became necessary in order to prevent him from watching movies all night. Fortunately he has no apparent interest in regular TV.) | * He figured out where the plug goes in the back of the DVD player on his own; we just hand him the cord now. (Confiscating it became necessary in order to prevent him from watching movies all night. Fortunately he has no apparent interest in regular TV.) | ||
* He figured out the main melody to one of his favorite musical numbers on the piano when he was approximately 10, but has lost interest in the piano since then. | * He figured out the main melody to one of his favorite musical numbers on the piano when he was approximately 10, but has lost interest in the piano since then. (Would probably regain interest if someone worked with him on this.) | ||
* He chooses movies and puts them in the DVD player himself, and | * He chooses movies and puts them in the DVD player himself, but hasn't learned not to get grease on the playing surface (i.e. his chosen disc frequently won't play, and he needs someone to clean it). While he does prefer musicals (and has a set of perennial favorites), he will sometimes explore other genres such as animation. | ||
** He figured out how to use the DVD remote control, and spent several months (late 2008/early 2009) exploring all the "special features" in his favorite DVDs. | |||
===Notes=== | |||
* He is primarily left-handed (especially writing, though in some other tasks too). | |||
==Interests== | ==Interests== | ||
* He is most likely to | * He is most likely to connect with people when they sing to him, especially if it is a song he knows. | ||
* He likes things that spin or flash; he also likes going fast on the highway. | * He likes things that spin or flash; he also likes going fast on the highway. | ||
* He likes to make facial expressions (usually smiling) at his reflection in various surfaces. | |||
* He bounces on his trampoline to work off energy or tension. | |||
* Likes watching musicals on his DVD player; he can put them in and take them out himself (though he tends to get them greasy and scratchy, and they become unplayable -- which is why we only let him have copies now), and he also likes exploring the "extra features" with a remote control. | |||
** Often sings parts of his favorite musicals, including long strings of dialogue (which are garbled because he doesn't understand the words) | |||
** Often responds positively when others sing his favorite songs; they can also be good for cueing him about particular activities (e.g. we sing "gonna wash that grease right outta your hair" -- after "[[wikipedia:I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair|I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair]]" -- to cue him for his shower) | |||
* Plays arcade-style computer games -- sometimes extremely well; he holds the household championship at PC*Bert (a [[wikipedia:Q*bert|Q*bert]] clone) | |||
* Seems to enjoy being around people who are socializing and active, though he avoids engaging others in these situations (it may be only because he associates these situations with food, or he may enjoy them for their own sake -- we're not really sure) | |||
==Inabilities== | |||
Josh generally does not or cannot: | |||
* originate speech to communicate a want, need, or choice (except under very specific conditions) | |||
* signal by pointing at what he wants, or holding up an object to request help with it | |||
* plan for the future: | |||
** he knows how to use a key to unlock a door, but he has never been known to hide a key for later use when nobody is watching; he lives very much in the present at all times | |||
** he becomes upset/angry when forced to wait for something he expects to happen, unless diverted by other engaging activity | |||
* respect boundaries: | |||
** We can't let him outside the house without constant supervision, because he might stay safely around the house for half an hour and then suddenly decide to take off down the street. | |||
** Rooms containing our belongings must be kept locked. (He used to shred picture books, which were kept unlocked because they also belonged to the other kids, but this has been happening less frequently.) | |||
** Foods he likes must also be kept locked. Cheese must be kept in the refrigerator in the (locked) basement, or he will eat all of it in one sitting. Candy must be kept in a locked room or he will go through it (in one sitting) and eat all the ones he likes (hard and gummi candies, including cough drops), and unwrap everything else. For awhile, this was also true for eggs (he would eat all the whites and leave the yolks out on the counter; as he got older, he learned to put them in the compost) and chicken (he would put all half-dozen legs on a small plate and try to reheat it). | |||
** We have to make copies of his DVDs (and give him only the copies to play, and keep the originals in a locked room), because he eventually breaks them through mishandling. | |||
** The plug sockets for his TV and computer typically must be locked at night so he won't plug them in and play/watch all night. | |||
** Our office must be kept locked at night or anytime we are away from it, or he will go in and play with the computers, rifle through the CDs looking for computer games and movies, and generally make a mess. (During the day, he is most likely to duck in quickly, grab the keys, and then immediately try to get out of the house.) | |||
==Experiments== | |||
===object placement=== | |||
There was one incident where Josh put four of his colored lids in one trashcan and one of them in another. When I discovered the one lid and gave it to him, he freaked out and started digging through that same trashcan looking for the other lids; it wasn't until the next morning that I discovered them in the ''other'' trashcan. This makes me wonder if Josh has difficulty keeping track of locations where he has put things. Some possible experiments to test this and find where the exact problem is: | |||
* '''basic shell game''': Can Josh correctly identify the cup which is hiding the candy, after they are moved around slowly? | |||
* '''delayed shell game''': Can Josh still identify the correct cup if they are taken out of the room and then brought back? How long does it take before he forgets? | |||
* '''labeled shell game''': How does labeling the cups ('1', '2', '3' -- not "candy"/"empty") affect his ability to keep track? | |||
* '''concentration candy''': How well does Josh do at a game of "Concentration" if he is given a candy reward for every match? (Can he learn to play by the rules, or will he insist on turning over all the cards? Or will he just get frustrated and wander off?) | |||
===cause and effect=== | |||
Josh seems unable to make the connection that turning on a light helps with finding things. It seems like there should be a way to design an experiment around this, but I haven't thought of it yet. | |||
==Non-Issues== | |||
Some problems which are common with autism but '''not''' with Josh: | |||
* Josh is not interested in feces. | |||
* Josh does not hurt himself (though he did once shatter a glass photo frame, and often hits glass which ''could'' break if he hit it hard enough -- he has been somewhat lucky -- but we don't think he understands the possible consequences; he is just hitting to express anger). | |||
* Josh rarely hits himself (only happens in the process of expressing anger, and he doesn't generally hit hard enough to bruise). | |||
* Josh has never been known to bite other people or himself | |||
* Josh has never been known to bite or eat non-food objects. (...unless you count food off the floor, which he has been known to eat -- but he seems to have good judgment about what is safe, as he has never become sick from doing so) | |||
* Even when upset and being aggressive towards others, Josh: | |||
** never uses a strangle hold (arm around someone's neck) | |||
** never pulls anyone's hair | |||
** never grabs people (the most forceful he will get is to push you away from something he doesn't want you to do) | |||
** never hits with hand closed (fist) | |||
** never uses objects to hit | |||
** never carries sharp objects, and almost never carries hard or heavy objects; prefers small, soft/flexible objects with bright colors | |||
** only kicks when ''extremely'' agitated (has been years since last incident) | |||
** very rarely throws things; the last incident was over Christmas break 2008 when he apparently got tired of the Christmas tree being in his bedroom (some days or weeks after the 25th), and started throwing things at it until we hauled it off. | |||
* Although Josh is interested in things that are burning (candles, fire in fireplaces), he has never tried to start one. He tends to blow out candles. (He does tend to turn Sandy's teakettle on because it glows, but he has never turned on the stove or lit a match. The closest he comes to being a fire hazard is when he incorrectly uses kitchen equipment, e.g. in December 2009 he tried to toast himself some bacon in the toaster-oven, resulting in a small grease fire which was safely contained by the toaster oven long enough for me to smell the smoke and intervene.) | |||
* Although Josh has been known to display sexual interest (he appears to be heterosexual in orientation), he has never been known to be aggressive with it; he had to be separated from a girl in whom he was interested (possibly she was autistic/DD herself; I don't know the details), but she did not need to be ''protected'' from him. | |||