Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Muslimah Next Door

Home
Muslim
Moments of Autism Humor – Lil D Was Here

Moments of Autism Humor – Lil D Was Here

Last updated on: May 17, 2012 at 11:30 am by Dilshad Ali

Moments of Autism Humor – Lil D Was Here 2012-05-17T11:30:56-04:00 Dilshad Ali

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Good morning, sunshine! Wake up my jaanus (darlings). Time for school. It’s wakey wakey time! La illaha, illallah, Muhammad dur Rasullallah.

This is what I say every morning, without fail for the past nine years, as I’ve woken up one, then two and now three children for school. It’s become a routine, something that comforts all of them, even when they are grumpy, whiny or tired and not wanting to get up – a good morning greeting followed by the kalma, or shahada, which is a Muslim’s declaration of faith. (Often one of the first things Muslim parents teach to their children.)

Lil D and his sister wake first (around 6:15 a.m.), since their busses respectively come at 7:05 and 7:11 a.m. Hamza, if I’m lucky, sleeps through the initial morning rush, and then I wake him and get him ready for preschool. This morning, I woke Amal (my daughter) first, as my husband said he would drop Lil D off.

After she left, I woke up Lil D and helped him get ready – go to the bathroom, wash his hands and face, clean his teeth, change his clothes (all done with my assistance and gesture prompting to him). We headed downstairs, and I began preparing his breakfast.

That’s when I had my comedic autism moment. See the picture to the right? All those different types of forks and spoons? That’s Lil D’s All Time Favorite persevative habit – he loves to twirl beads on the stems of forks and spoons (and toothbrushes, hairbrushes and pencils/pens). He’ll spend the better part of the day taking one fork, then abandoning it for a spoon, then putting that in a drawer and taking a wooden spoon, then putting that down and grabbing a pencil, then going in the bathroom and trying to grab one of our toothbrushes (it’s why toothbrushes are usually hidden in this house) – all for the twirling of his beads.

I have mismatched forks and spoons (as well as strands of metal beads) littered throughout my house, in all my drawers, everywhere. When we have a people over, or try to set a nice table, one of my husband’s pet peeves is that we never have a full set of cutlery, and what we have is mismatched. We go through boxes of plastic cutlery, because we can never find enough metal forks and spoons to use.

So, to all my friends whom we have ever visited (with Lil D in tow), here in town or out of town, to the few restaurants we have eaten at with him (and there are a precious few), if you are missing a fork or spoon, chances are I have it. Come and claim it. In fact, be happy – the fact that Lil D went through your drawers means he was comfortable in your house. And, if you find beads in your house, consider it a sign:

“Lil D was here.”

Previous Post

May 15, 2012

Walking Away from Autism

Next Post

May 29, 2012 Autism and the Fractured Family - Making A Choice

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Global Voice for Autism Autism Awareness Month 2016 Autism Awareness Month 2017 Autism Interlude Hajj and Eid ul Adha Jenin Autism Project Ramadan Three Questions Uncategorized WISE Global Conference

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Where was Jesus praying the night before He was crucified?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Tarsus The Garden of Gethsemane Antioch Galilee