My Best Friend

Drawing is still high on Aaron's list of favorite activities. I can't decide which one I like more: the Chewbacca-esque guy in the center or the cyclops holding the earth on the left.

As part of our homeschool, the kids can earn 'attitude points' by completing all their schoolwork and chores without (too much) whining. They save these points up for various rewards. Seth and Catherine tend to use theirs to get out of doing math, but Aaron saved his up for a date with Mom. He very specifically requested "pink ice cream in a cone." Not what I would have picked in February, but I will admit that it was very delicious! 

A rather new obsession is sending things in the mail. This picture shows a card and a small package with a peach ring inside that he wanted to send to Grandpa Russell. Unfortunately, our mail carrier doesn't seem to know what to do with a tiny card that says "Arizona" on it. Next up on our list: learning to address and stamp an envelope!

He and Elise are about 50/50 now with playing/fighting. When they get into a good groove, they will play together for HOURS (usually playing animals). But there are still lots of moments when it degenerates into battles (usually instigated by Elise's teasing). Aaron's new favorite threat is, "Elise! I will not play babies with you!" 

He's also obsessed with her hair (which really is super soft and fun to touch). He'll compulsively touch it and kiss it and rub it on his face when she's nearby. She is not a fan and tends to retaliate with flailing and punching. Doesn't stop him, though. 

We are fully in the "hours and hours of questions" phase. Yesterday during dinner he went on for probably 30 minutes or more about Great Wolf Lodge and how much it would cost to build one in our yard, and how big it would be, and how much people would pay, and...and...and... It's hilarious when it's not exhausting (especially because he has a tendency to ask the exact same question 5 or 6 times in the course of a conversation). 

After a couple of years of waffling back and forth, we finally decided to have Aaron evaluated at Kennedy Krieger. The entire staff was completely charmed by him. When his evaluator finally came in she said, "The girls up front told me he was the most adorable little boy they'd ever seen!" So clearly it's not just my mom-bias!

Despite being stuck in the same room for three hours of questioning (for me) and testing (for him), he was remarkably cooperative and mellow. The evaluator and I were both very impressed. 

Ultimately, he was diagnosed with a higher-level language processing disorder. Specifically, he has a hard time with any language that isn't very concrete. He will probably struggle with this his entire life. Luckily he already seems more naturally inclined toward math and science which will involve much less figurative language. 

Surprisingly, he was also diagnosed with hypermobility, which means his joints extend beyond the normal range. This can make controlling his body very difficult since he doesn't get the normal feedback from his movements. I was SO grateful to hear this because he has struggled for years with his motor skills. His pediatrician didn't seem to think it was concerning and the evaluation from the school system blamed it on our "large family." Apparently they don't understand that having more kids makes me LESS likely to dress my own kid, not more...

She also informed us that he is 100% not on the autism spectrum, which was something we had considered. He has several tendencies that look very autistic, but his social skills (read: charm) were a clear indicator that autism is not the issue here. She did warn us that she's seeing early signs of mild ADHD and anxiety. I'm grateful to have a heads up on that front. 

I left the evaluation feeling so relieved to have answers. It was also a blessing because it answered some questions I'd been having about Seth as well. 

I sure love this little guy. I'm so excited to see what he decides to do with his gifts. The other night he told us he was going to be a "math-petitioner" when he grows up. I think even Math itself might give up and answer his questions after a few hours of Aaron interrogation...