Susan Senator

Oh he never speaks his passions
He never speaks his views
Where other men speak volumes
The man I love is mute
In truth I can’t recall
Being wooed with words, at all
Even now…
–He Plays the Violin, “1776”

Nat did not want to “play on the computer today.” Still, I thought it would be good for him to get in the habit of articulating his thoughts and getting himself out there. He, like his father, and apparently Thomas Jefferson, is a man of few (spoken) words! He is completely unnerved by the December sky, which only starts to get light when he leaves for school and starts to get dark when he comes home. The street lights in our neighborhood are not well calibrated and they flicker on and off. Oh, insensitive Town of Brookline!

On another front, I spent a few hours with a friend in a local mall today, helping her decorate her house. We were hanging around in Restoration Hardware and I noticed a stocking stuffer type of gift called, “Chit Chat.” They were billing it as a box of conversation starters. It was a lucite container holding little square cards, each with a question or statement that would get you thinking, such as, “What are the best landmarks in your city, and why?” and “What is your favorite entree?” Kind of typical Restoration Hardware crowd fare, but it got me thinking, there could be such a thing made for folks with ASD. Someone like Nat could really benefit from a modified “Chit Chat;” with questions like, “What was something good that happened today.” or “Tell me what your favorite sport is.”

My friend actually bought “Chit Chat” as a family Chanukah present. I think it’s a great way to get talking. This is something Ned and I do sometimes. We just sit and tell each other favorite this or least favorite that, and sometimes we try to guess what the other would think. I find it’s best played lying together on a couch or the wife sitting on the husband’s lap. That way I can be sure to have his full attention; blocks the laptop quite nicely!