We have been thinking quite a lot about our OT's suggestion that E see a Speech Therapist. I have also been doing a bit of reading about pragmatics. Now, I have done 3 semesters worth of linguistics courses at an undergraduate level, yet I still don't really know how to explain pragmatics, so forgive me if this makes no sense.
Pragmatics is the way we use language to communicate with others, and socialise. it is the way we convey meaning. A person can have a lexicon (head dictionary!) filled with tens of thousands of words, but still have a problem with pragmatics. So, is there a deficit in E's pragmatic language? It is hard to say. He is only four, so I am not sure if it's a characteristic of his PDD-NOS, or his language just hasn't developed to that point yet. One thing that sticks out with E is that he speaks as if nobody else is speaking, and nothing else is going on around him. For instance, he can be talking to me about spiders (a current fascination), so will be asking "why is a trap door spider called a trap door spider?" and meanwhile, his sister, M, is whinging for a drink and trying to clean in to the kitchen sink, so i am busy trying to sort her out. He keeps talking, keeps asking the same question, completely oblivious to what is going on, and ignores me when I say "in a minute", or "hang on a second, I'm just sorting M out." I do wonder, though, if that is his egocentrism. Jean Piaget asserted that between the ages of 2 and 7, children are in a stage of "egocentrism," i.e. they think the world revolves around them. Often literally! E will often ask "why is the sun following me?" So, I am not sure where to draw the line here. I'm not sure if it's a problem with pragmatics, or just plain old ego at work. I can not get out of not answering the question, though. I will get M's drink, move her away from the sink, settle her at the kitchen table with her drink and a snack, and he will still be asking the same question. I don't know what that means, if anything. I'm just trying to relate this linguistic thing to him. It is to do with turn taking as well, and he is not great at that, but again, he is 4.. And talking about things that only interest him? Again, 4. I just don't know!
In other news, I have applied for funding through the Helping Children With Autism Program to help us pay for therapies and some equipment. I faxed the application on the weekend, and got an email on Tuesday to say they had received the application, and we should hear something within 6 weeks. They also attached a document called Self Care for Families. There's a list of things that help us cope bette, e.g. having high self esteem, a sense of humour etc. There was one point that really made me think
a strong faith (or a constructive philosophy that gives life meaning)
I do not have a strong faith. I am an atheist through and through. But do I feel like life has meaning? I don't know. And I don't mean that in a nihilistic, depressed sort of way. I just think, we are biological creatures, living, breeding and dying, to fertilise the earth to grow the plants etc. So, do I have a constructive philosophy that gives life meaning? Um.. not really. Nothing that I can put in to words. I think it would be helpful to have something that I could focus on when I am not coping well, or we are having a particularly bad day. But I got nothing at the moment. I will keep thinking about it.
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