This weekend, at two separate family gatherings, two different people meeting Philip for first time had the same thing to say about him:
“Look at how he keeps himself entertained. He sure is having fun!”
Both times, Philip was playing with objects that he had found in the yard. He kept finding new ways to play them. He explored each object completely, looking at them from different angles and incorporating them into his stims.
Sidewalk art from found objects: just one example of how Philip can creatively play by himself
It was nice to hear others speak appreciatively of Philip’s ability to play alone. When Philip was diagnosed with autism, isolation was pointed out to us as a flaw. Yet, shouldn’t all things be done in moderation? Isn’t it okay if Philip likes playing alone and has the ability to do so? How exhausted would we be if Philip demanded our attention 24/7? How much worse would Philip be if he was never able to exercise independence?
At the end of April, I vowed to start my own list of “1,000 Ausome Things.” I’ll be adding this post to the emerging collection. I welcome readers’ suggestions, too. Do you have a story of an autistic person being ausome? Have you read a story portraying autistics in a positive light? Tell me about in the comments so the list of ausome can keep on growing.
that cynking feeling 
I think it is important and healthy for a child to have time to play alone. I’m glad you posted this. We are always so busy trying to integrate. Sometimes, it’s just nice to allow creativity blossom on its own.
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I guess that’s one of the problems with a diagnosis based on deficits. I’m not trying to deny that challenges exist, but I do think that when medical professionals present a new diagnosis, they don’t have to focus only on deficits.
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So many AUSOME things about our kiddos. One of my favorites? The acceptance of people for who they are. Nonjudgmental…My child seems to accept people for who they are without taking into aaccount the lines drawn by cliques. He is so forgiving and is willing to give people a second chance based solely on their actions and not be clouded with the emotional drama everyone else imposes. I think all of our kids are that way and I wish we all could have a little more of that!
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This is fabulous. I’m adding it to the list!
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Our family friend Gus who has autism is also super generous with his toys. Gus is so curious about my younger son (who is 2.5 years younger than he is) but he willingly shared his toys and books from the first get together, even though he seemed to be suspicious of Simon who was a stranger to him.
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I love that title! And it’s so great that you look at the bright side, as you should!
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It is exactly this skill — the ability to see things from many different perspectives — that makes a great engineer or researcher. Keep developing that skill. It will take him far!
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