Introducing Gus

This is my first post and I'm hoping it doesn't end up being novel length. Gus is actually the name of a character in novel I'm working on self-publishing. He is based loosely on my real life son, and so I will refer to my son by that name here.

Gus is 6 and has Asperger's Syndrome. He's fairly high functioning - he has loads of language and his cognitive skills are great. However, he has some trouble using all the language he's acquired appropriately. Trying to have a conversation with him is the epitome of randomness, and it's usually pretty one-sided. Most of the time, he's not particularly interested in what others have to say; he's mostly just vocalizing all the many thoughts that are racing around his very busy brain. But he has good days, and on those days we can have something close to a chat.

An average day (like today) will involve him running through the house like a hot rod - back and forth, complete with zooming noises. I'll have to repeat anything I say to him a minimum of 4 times, although he will listen much more attentively to his younger sister, four-year-old Mama Mama (let's call her MM). Ironically, for all his lacking social skills, he and his sister are extremely close and play beautifully together. They're playing now, probably Teen Titans or some such other super-hero themed game. When the time comes to clean up the bedrooms for bed time, I will be afraid to see the destruction that's been wrought upon the upper level of our home. But at least they've having fun and interacting. They both need that.

Gus loves to swim, but hates to have wet clothes or to be touched with anything wet. And he hates soap bubbles. He loves music, but if we sing near him, he will tell us to shut up. His sister's singing often makes him cry (which honestly, I can't blame his condition for). He tells knock-knock jokes, but often messes up the punchlines, but they're funny anyway. He's a trip, that kid.

So in the days that follow, I'll be writing about some of the therapies we're trying out, how they're working, pros/cons, things like that. And when all else fails, I'll just blather on about my boy.