Blinchik Maker

Blinchik in Russian means little pancake. While I know how to make them, this title refers to my son. His name is Blayne and his father is Russian. Naturally, our nickname for him is Blinchik.

Blayne has Aspergers and is very entertaining. This is the story of our life with him and how he sees things a little (OK, a lot) different.

The title also refers to my life before Blayne when I lived in Russia (Soviet Union) and actually made blinchiky.

Aspergers is Not a Diagnosis

The moment you learn your child has a “syndrome” can be devastating and profoundly humbling. In that moment I felt helpless and as if I was drowning. How was I going to manage his needs and figure out how to “normalize” him? How does this impact him for the rest of his life? Does this mean he will never be a fully-functioning, independent adult?

The doctor’s understanding of the situation and how grave things were for my husband, son and I were evident in his hushed tone and in his stiff body language. It seemed as though he saw my son as terribly sick and difficult to “heal”. It took me a few days of reading and many hours of reflection to finally understand there really was nothing wrong with my son. That it was not a “syndrome” or “disability” or something we had to fix or worse yet, not curable. Over time and after reading at least 30 books in 3 months, I came to the conclusion that my son and all people with Aspergers have nothing wrong with them. That their brains operate differently from people who don’t have Aspergers and this is a very good thing.

I began looking at my son in awe and seeing how truly amazing he is and wanted to do everything to preserve and encourage his unique talents. When teachers or counselors talked to me about ways to cure his “daydreaming” or his constant singing, I told them I didn’t think he needed to be cured. I told them I thought we needed to find ways to accomodate the singing and daydreaming because he has an amazing musical ear and I didn’t want any interventions to change that. When therapists told me they could cure his ability to be distracted so easily, I told them I wasn’t interested because his ability to be distracted so easily is directly related to his astonishing capacity for remembering the smallest details. When teachers told me that I needed to get him medicated so he could concentrate better in class, I said no because that would diminish his great talent imitating accents.

I decided early on to let him in on his uniqueness and tell him about his brain. I will never forget the day I told him. He was so relieved to learn about himself and how his brain works differently than other kids. His learning about his Asergers put his feeling of “differentness” into perspective and actually empowered him.

For 6 years Blayne and I have worked on how to read body language and non-verbal cues. We have worked on Theory of Mind and how to put yourself in another’s shoes and see things from their point of view. We have worked very hard on how to understand boundaries in play and how to be a good friend. After all this work, Blayne is now in a place where he feels totally comfortable with himself and his “differentness”. He gets what his challenges are and what his amazing talents are and he has told me that he would never trade those talents for being able to do things easily like most other kids.

Three days ago, Blayne graduated from his Occupational Therapy. This moment came fast and when we said goodbye to our therapist (Marla), I finally understood what was happening. We worked for 2.5 years with Marla, every week. When she assessed Blayne and gave me the goals for success, I burst into tears because I was so sure we would never achieve the goals she had set for us. But 2.5 years later and after much hard work on Blayne’s part, we not only achieved all of the goals she set, but exceeded them! I am so very proud of my son. He has always understood that, while it wasn’t always fun or interesting, it was important for his growth. And Marla has always understood that the goal wasn’t ever to change Blayne or fix him but to accenuate his talents and minimize his challenges. I am so very grateful for her and all she has done for Blayne, but most importantly for how she has always seen him as special and extraordinary. She said to me once, “Aspergers is not a diagnosis.” And she is absolutely right!

1 note #asperger's

May 13th, 2012 at 6:21PM

Even though there is obvious spin going on here… I still cried.

April 21st, 2012 at 8:18AM

A Plant-Based Diet is Healthy!

This article totally explains my reasons for switching to a more plant-based diet. It also helps me stay the course…

April 20th, 2012 at 7:47PM

What My Fridge Says About Me…

Veggies

I have to say, I am pretty amazed every time I look inside my refrigerator these days. As you can see, I now house more than 50% vegetables and fruits in there. I have never had so many fruits and vegetables in my house at one time, ever!

I started juicing a few weeks ago and so had to up the veggie storage. In addition to the juicing, a funny thing happened about a week and a half ago. I started craving veggies. All kinds of veggies… asparagus, peppers, carrots, pea pods, beets, celery, kale, lettuce… you get the idea.

I have never craved veggies. Burgers, chocolate cake, cheese curds, lasagna, ice cream, beignets, risotto - sure… but never kale! Now it is something I want all the time. I keep two to three bunches of kale in the refrigerator at a time, along with two bunches of asparagus, three peppers and three kinds of lettuce.

All these veggies taking up room in my fridge has made it impossible to have room for processed foods. And because I am craving the veggies, it doesn’t matter to me anymore that it takes longer to prepare meals. The fact that I feel better, I think better and I sleep better outweighs all the extra time it takes to prep and cook, anyway. And besides, my son and my husband are prepping and cooking with me, too; so the longer it takes to make a meal, the longer we spend together.

Man, I never thought I would benefit so much and in so many ways from such a simple change. And no, I do not miss meat or eggs or cow dairy anymore. And neither does my fridge.

#plant-based foods

April 17th, 2012 at 5:50PM

Rainy in Seattle… (Taken with instagram)

April 15th, 2012 at 8:50PM

Moroccan tea with cookies… (Taken with Instagram at Kasbah Authentic Moroccan Restaurant)

April 8th, 2012 at 3:08PM

Haloumi. It’s what’s for dinner… (Taken with instagram)

April 7th, 2012 at 11:29AM

Waiting for Blayne to finish his test… (Taken with instagram)

April 7th, 2012 at 11:27AM

My favorite dad… (Taken with instagram)

April 7th, 2012 at 8:18AM

Spring in Seattle (Taken with instagram)