Autism: Bad Luck or No Luck At All

Autism:  Bad Luck or No Luck At All

Ok so this week was Halloween and Trick or Treat.  My son missed this event last year due to horrible health issues that caused him to lose his sight.

So this year, we had to tough it out, autism or not.  Vision or not. We were not missing out on another Halloween.  Each year my son dictates what costumes we, as a team, will wear.  They are usually costumes that are not readily available on the retail market.  Mom ends up making them to the best of my ability.  This year we were Spike and Tyke, Dad and Son Bulldogs from "Tom and Jerry".  I used grey sweatpants and hoodies.  I made ears and mounted them to headbands.

My son made a new friend this past week at school,a little girl that also attends his school who was born without sight.  Her Mom very nicely invited us to come to their house for Trick or Treat.
Since we don't get many social invitations I wanted to take advantage of this offer.  She warned me they usually take a group picture then head out down the street.

We arrived on time amazingly and there were a lot of kids and adults.  The little girl greeted Joey and they announced they were going to take the group picture.  Our host came over and asked if this would bother my son.  I said "No, as long as you don't say the traditional "Say cheese" phrase.  He hates that and it will drive him to meltdown.  "Ok, we won't" she said.  Instead we got a very loud "SMILE".  This did not go over well with my son.  He stuck his fingers in his ears and was starting to become aggitated.  The photographer's cell phone flash was not working so we had to endure this about 3 times.  Argggh.

Ok, he kept it together.  All the kids started to scatter and head up the street to start Trick or Treating.  Off to the left a blasting chorus erupts with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU".
Now I'm thinking "why doesn't someone just shoot me?".  We are two for two now with the photo op and the most dreaded meltdown producer in our household "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU".  Can I not get a break here this evening?  I quickly turned his attention to the fact that the other kids were way ahead of us and we needed to go in the opposite direction of the singing.  THANK GOD IT WORKED AND OFF WE WENT.

We made our way down the street and around the corner in this neighborhood I know nothing about.  The group had long since passed us and proceeded onward.  We were on our own.

As we walked I'm vocally telling him about the bumps in the sidewalk and the cracks in the pavement so he doesnt stumble.  He has a hold of my arm and folks are probably wondering why I'm hanging onto a 15 year old kid.  At some houses I had to offer explanation as to his lack of sight when he did not readily reach into the candy bowl presented in front of him.  Most folks were nice and happy to help us.  We stopped to pet a doggy dressed in a super hero costume.  At one house that had a mega sized set of steps I asked one child to bring a piece of candy down for my son which he did.  Nice kid.

As we turned to try to make our way back to the car a lady stopped us at the intersection. This is honestly one of the very few times in my life I have been "Speechless".  I know if video taped it would have shown my mouth actually hanging open, no speech being produced.  This was brought about by her comment, out of nowhere:

"Oh, where is the other Three Blind Mice?"
"Uhhh, Excuse me?"  I replied
"Well there are two of you, so where is the other mouse of the three blind mice?"
Ok, at this point I'm frozen.  Thoughts are racing through my head. She could not possibly be that rude, I think.  Is she aware of the fact that our friend who invited us, is also not sighted.  Is she referring to her as the "Third" mouse?  Is she confusing our costumes to be that of "mice" and not "dogs"?  I want to grab her by the collar and scream " he is blind you stupid idiot".  But I didnt want to upset my son.

Calmly I replied :"We are supposed to be dogs, not mice".  We walked away.  I thinking my god, what other autism and social obstacles can we encounter tonite?  I thinking, my poor son, has held it together so well tonite despite the triggers he loathes the most.

After returning home, he said to me "I like the old trick or treat better" referring to the old neighborhood we usually frequent.  But I was proud of him for venturing into new territory and coming out the winner.