Having Friends

We had a neighborhood playdate at Gearity School last week and Ellie took the opportunity to hang out with this little fellow, who is a few months younger than Ellie is (but just as verbal). The best part about this situation is that she asked him to sit next to her and offered to share her berries with him. It's not easy to know how to be friends, but Ellie is really coming into her own with it.

I have some revolutionary ideas about toys which I am going to blog about in the next few days. I just didn't want to go too much longer without a post, because Ellie is just taking off like a rocket.

Look at this kid.

Ellie has come so far, so fast. Her gaze is direct. She has focus. She can really play with other kids. And man, can she do some mean yoga.

Face Playing

Here's another example where learning social cues is so critical for kids with an ASD. Here Ellie has mastered mugging for the camera, instead of giving me the blank canvas I was seeing for a while. She seems to have a theory of mind with the camera, that she knows what it's for, how she can interact with it, and why ultimately it's a fun toy (she loves photos). She can mimic faces, play face games, and sustain eye contact for as long as any so-called "typical" kid. And gosh, she's just so pretty, who wouldn't want to take her picture?