Ummm, help.

We're back from the long weekend in New York, and I had so many things to tell you:

- how Isaac refused to enter synagogue when he heard the cantor's powerful soprano voice, and how we spent my godson's Bar Mitzvah at the temple playground instead;

- how the swim trunks he wore at a pool party yesterday made him uncomfortable, so he insisted on peeling them off in front of maybe 30-plus people (much to the horror of a group of nine-year-old girls);

- how I struggled with whether to embrace it (he's not yet five, after all), insist he get dressed and start a riot, or cower in the bathroom until it was all over;

- how the other children stared as he toe-walked around the pool, happily flapping, nekkid as the day he was born;

- how I wondered if this would be a blip, or the inkling of a new, worrisome nudity campaign;

I'm tabling it for now, partly because his two cousins (five and three) shortly joined him au naturel, partly because my brain is fried from too much travel and too little sleep, and partly because I'm in a state of shock.

You know that Isaac likes to watch videos on YouTube, and we set up the bookmarks bar so he can easily click on whichever elevator video he wants to see (the moral of YouTube: everything is a genre).

So when we got home from the airport this afternoon, I let him play on the computer while I unpacked and started his dinner.

A few minutes later, I checked in on him. He was looking at pages and pages of Google image searches of, uh, "WIMEN" (all, luckily, quite innocent). I checked the search history, and found the following searches:

MEN
WIMEN
BEATA (his nanny)
DIEGO
OKAY
BED
CPYUTR (computer!)
BUS

So.

Job one: get some content-filtering software, pronto.
Job two: look for a more comfortable pair of swim trunks.
Job three: get a paper bag. Breathe in and out. Repeat.

Comments

[beata]

hehe..yeah, job one: do it fast!

[beata]

Welcome back

[Christa]

Yup. Ben is stripping off his swimsuit this year, too.

Is there a market in a nudist summer camp for kids on the spectrum? Learning social skills and coping mechanisms... in the buff?

[drama mama]

He is only five. This may not be cute in a few short years, but five? Sort of adorable.

Keep breathing.

[Niksmom]

Forgive me for snorting out loud (with laughter) at your pain...the image of Isaac at the pool **was** kinda funny. Mostly b/c I can totally picture Nik doing much the same thing! Sigh... take it in stride and maybe you can find (or create) a good social story about keeping clothing on? Sorry about the Bar Mitzvah; sometimes you just have to roll with it and it sounds like you did a fine job. Now get some rest! xoxo

[Special Needs Mama]

Listen, my daughter did this too at that age. We tried to laugh it off. Not that it was funny. Sigh.

[kyra]

this totally cracked me up! i especially love your last three lines!!

go Isaac! that's all i have to say. who WOULDN"T want to rip off uncomfortable trunks? i certainly would! and that internet surfing! i love his curiosity and his spelling and his typing. amazing.

[Troy]

I wanted to take time to thank you for the great information on this site. I found it to be very helpful and interesting. I will certainly check back soon.

[Melissa P.]

Alot of autistic children do this.
My younger son had to be constantly reminded not to do it.
Especially in water. He is 12 now and just did it at Great America.
It is nerve wracking.

[Will's Mom]

If it is any encouragement, our entire summer of 2007 was a naked summer for Will.

My PDD-NOS/hyperlexic/possibly asperger's hilarious, smart, sweet son was so unable to stay in his suit that we had to leave a few play dates and really didn't go to the Y at all. He had just turned four. This summer he is a new man. He is not only wearing a suit, he's wearing one that comes with swim shirt (for SPF protection). I think your latest entry IS a sign. I feel the same way about Will. The progress comes - it's just in their own time.

FYI: Will also has issues with "church music." It makes him weep (not cry, weep) and bury his head in our laps. His other auditory issues are nearly gone, bu this has remained. I honestly think he is truly affected by the music's beauty. Needless to say, we leave lot and generally do not put him through this (but do occasionally to help him get more used to it).

Thanks for this blog. It's my first visit, and I'll be back.