If The Shoe Fits....

As many of you know, alot of children with Autism do not "play" with toys as typical children do. It is often an object not normally thought of as entertaining that autistic kids find interesting instead of the usual dolls and army men. I cannot tell you how much money and time I have spent trying to find something in the toy store that would amuse Camryn for more than a couple of mintues. Dolls...nope! Stuffed animals....uh-uh! Littlest pet shops? Not happening! And you'd think by now I would have long ago given up on my search for the elusive entertainer, realizing that Hasbro and Mattel ain't got nothin' on Rubbermaid and the U.S. Mint when it comes to keeping Cams busy. You see, most of the time it is a spoon and a plastic tupperware bowl filled with mulch that keeps Camryn's attention the longest. Or a coin. Could be a penny, quarter or fifty cent piece. She doesn't mind, because she doesn't care how much it can buy, only how it feels in her hand or the sound they make when she "stirs" them in a plastic cup. And I love that, the simplicity and the basicness of it all, I really do. But as a mommy of little girls, it is just part of my genetic makeup to want to see all of my daughters playing with Barbies and little ponies and stuffies.Mason has been an animal lover since the day she was born, a plush Pooh bear by her side in the crib. She never developed an affection for dolls, which was okay because eventually Natalie was born and she is constantly shoving bottles and paci's into plastic mouths. But Cams, she's different like that. She has never really taken to toys in general and on the rare occasion a doll did make it into her hands, she would hold it up to my nose and tell me to smell it. I knew this but continued to bring playthings home to her hoping one of them would snap her out of it. I even resorted to baby toys even though she was many years past toddlerhood, and they actually worked for a bit. She liked the ones that played music and lit up. But mostly it is empty shampoo bottles, metal buckles and plastic clips that make her happy. I have learned that I am the one who wants her to play with "real" toys and it is so silly because who cares what she plays with as long as she is having fun. Her room still has some stuffed animals and a few dolls, but mostly there are metal spoons and baggies filled with marbles and mulch, with a stray dogbone here and there. It's what she likes so that's what we give her.
Yesterday I got out Natalie's old dollhouse. I put it on the porch with a bucket of barbie dolls and watched Nat go to town dressing each one and making up their "conversations" with each other. It was so cute and I smiled to myself as I folded laundry a few feet away. When Camryn came home, I forgot it was out there and when I opened the door for her to go outside I rushed to pick up the Barbies before Camryn stepped on them. I was beyond shocked when I saw her reach down, pick one up and lay it down on the plastic toy bed in the dollhouse. "Night-night" she said and giggled. "OMG!!!!!!!!" Was she playing dolls? I have been waiting eight years for this!!! I stood behind her and watched with anticipation as she walked over to the pile of doll clothes and searched through for a matching pair of plastic black wedges. Oh my gosh!!!! She is picking out clothes for the barbie!!! OMG, OMG, O-M-G!!! She headed over to the table, sat down and.......tried to put the half inch Barbie shoe on her own size 1 foot. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but chose laughter. It was funny because after all isn't it always the cutest pair of shoes on the rack that never fit? After trying to put three more pairs of Barbie shoes on her big toe, and getting very frustrated that it wasn't working, she threw the shoes down and headed out to the sand box settling down with a nice big bowl full of sand and grass,once again teaching me a very valuable lesson....if the shoe fit's wear it, but if it doesn't screw shoes and go play in the sand! Love it!!
Nat went back to playing dolls, Mason was in her room reading a good book and Cams was shifting the "grass soup" from one container to another. Everyone was happy and at the end of the day that's all that matters. So my kid doesn't play with toys, so what? So when they are grown I will have Mason's old Pooh Bear, Nats beloved baby doll  and Cams favorite piece of mulch. It may not be the norm, but it's definitely par for our very interesting course!