We’ve learned the hard way that if you do the same thing in the same way, Zip will think that’s the only way and protest any changes. He gets stuck on certain things, like the same two pairs of fleece pajamas, even though before that he would only wear green cotton airplane pajamas. This may seem like pattern recognition but it’s just the autistic tendancy towards rigid thinking. Since we prefer him to have a more flexible approach to life, we try to change things up.

When I sat down with him today to do the “me-you-put” activity with the squares in the jar, I chose a different container. Very different. I had an empty bead box with small compartments and we put as many squares as would fit into each space. He adapted great, sat for the whole thing. At the end we had a cute colorful filled box. It gave us a nice ending point, too. I only wish he would pay more attention when I take a turn, but I’m sure that will come.