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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Spencer's Friend


I was sitting in bed drinking coffee this morning and The Mister
 came in to tell me that Spencer was watching a video clip
 of an autistic boy who was watching a video clip of trains.
  Did you catch that?  ha.

The boy had a lot of the same autistic mannerisms that
Spencer does when he watches trains....sounds of excitement
and some funny dancing and hand flaps.
How he finds these things I will never know,
but it was interesting to watch him watch the other guy!

Trains are a common obsession with people with autism.
Seems he's found one of them!




38 comments:

  1. ha. that is pretty cool actually...though now i wonder what was going through his head as he watched the boy...

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    Replies
    1. He seems really happy to have found him and they enjoyed the train video together! ha. Crazy!

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  2. It must be like finding a friend with the same interest. Liking someone who loves to cook, or watercolor.

    I think this is very exciting...Can't help but notice the stacks of train papers behind the computer. Very neat!

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  3. At first I thought it was him watching himself which I thought was cute. Then reading it was not and hearing how he was enjoying it, I thought it was still cute anyway. He just acts like anyone who is a collector of fine things. Trains fascinate all of us. Hope you have fun watching the race today and join in praying for those injured on Saturday. May today's race be safe and keep everyone safe.

    God bless.

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  4. You just have to wonder what Spencer thought of seeing this young man :)

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    1. I know! I'd love to know what he thought. He was happy, but I'd really like to know how he found that clip! I didn't see the title, so I can't bring it back up!

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  5. Never knew the fact about the trains
    Just knew they were liked a ton at your lanes
    And to find a friend that acts the same
    Must be grand as they share the train game

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    1. yep, they are very obsessed
      and the think trains are the best!

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  6. How interesting!
    I learned something...a common obsession,trains.
    Pen (Train) Pals?










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    1. wonder how he would feel about a face to face meeting. lol....

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    2. what's with your comment? hahaha...it's like blogger deleted large paragraphs of it. lol....

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  7. That really is fascinating. And how did he find this? There must be endless frustrations as well as fascinations with trying to understand this world. I've never heard of the fascination with trains although I don't know very much about autism. So interesting to see what makes him happy.

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    1. I have no idea how he found it, but he's quite proficient with the computer and searching the internet! He switched clips before I could see what it was, and he had it on full screen so there wasn't a title to read! It was fun to see him enjoying it, though.

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  8. I think is lovely Spencer has a friend with the same things he likes, interesting and nice:))
    I love trains too, the other day I told the kids how I missed my trains travels when I was little, now all the people travel in cars or buses but we travel in trains many times !!

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    1. I would love to travel by train some time. They still have them here, but they aren't as popular as they were a few decades ago. The boys would love a trip on a train! Maybe some day!

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    2. yeah here is the same almost you dont see trains is sad!

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  9. I think it's so great that Spencer found this and that it is making him happy! I didn't know about the train obsession/autism connection, an interesting fact.

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  10. I bet Spencer really enjoyed finding a kindred spirit. It is always nice when we find someone that has our similar interests. It makes us feel connected.

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  11. Isn't it fun to find a friend! And I guess all of our blog meetings are similar...love of family, pets, photography , bird, flea market finds. Now, if your cooking and baking talent would rub off on me, things would be perfect!

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    1. haha...I have a feeling you really CAN cook and you're just being modest. :)

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  12. I like this story, and trains really aren't hard for any of us to love, are they?
    I wonder if my brother likes trains?

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    1. What happened to Whiskers? I missed something. :(

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    2. Oh, that Whiskers. She's been sick. Had one of those irritating vet visits on Friday. Almost lost her yesterday but she seems to have turned a corner today. You didn't really miss any news...I just put a thought of two on my sidebar a few times..no posts about her.

      I wonder if your brother likes trains, too!

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    3. But you did mention something to me about a "dying cat". So glad she's feeling better. Maybe she ate a bad mouse?

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  13. Another touching story, Betsy...very heartwarming...
    I have 2 boys across the street at home...they both have Fragile X...missing chromosomes...
    I was reminded of them when you mentioned the hand-flapping...they do that a LOT...
    We have known them for 27 years....and they always say hello to us!!!
    We are fogged in down here.....for the second day in a row...
    Hopefully some sun tomorrow...

    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. I don't really know too much about Fragile X, except that there are some similarities to autism. How fun that the boys know you and say hello. :)

      We had sun today...freezing cold, but sunny anyway!

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  14. I wonder what it is about trains that captures their attention, isn't that amazing,

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    1. I think it was the smoke and steam to begin with when they were really small. Now they just love everything about them...names of railroad lines...all of it.

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  15. Very fascinating, Betsy. I wonder if he related to the boy in the video, or was just watching the trains. Perhaps he will find it and watch it again.

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    1. I heard from his teacher today that he watches that same clip at school. :) I'm sure it's the boy since the clip of the train is so small. Wish he could tell us!

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  16. Oh Betsy, this is a very touching story! And I really wonder why of all things it´s trains, so many autists seem to get obsessed with?! Trains do not play a major role in our everyday life as the used to, do they? As a young student I used to visit some Swedish girl friens, whose mother was the director of a house in the country, where they took care of juvenile autists. I remember one of the boys, who was obsessed with the dates of battles all over the world. He knew hundreds by heart. We went to a village festival with a group of boys once and I remember that some of them obviously took pleasure in watching people dance. May I ask if your boys like music and if, what kind of music? -I was young then and took everything fo granted, as it was. But today it strikes me, that almost all of them were boys, only one girl in the house. Was this just by chance? Or is there a bigger evidence for autism for males?
    Hugs
    Christel

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    1. Math and dates is another very common obsession with people with autism! And yes, boys are more likely to have autism than girls! They do love music...any kind from classical to pop. Spencer especially loves to dancee, too!

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  17. That's amazing. Wonder how he found it?

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  18. Internet friends {bloggers too} are always fun.

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