Everything I need to know I learned from Dora the Explorer

The boys started their love of Dora the Explorer around the age of 2.  Now they are 6.  With the exception of a few days here and there, I've seen Dora every single day for 4 years.  I've seen every episode she's ever recorded.  Sung every song.  Read nearly all her books.  I think she's got a lot of great knowledge to share with us.

Always carry your backpack.  ~  Everywhere you go, there will be a clear path to follow.  ~  Almost all inanimate objects can speak, and they usually speak Spanish.  ~  Almost all animals can speak as well, and they are often bilingual.  ~  All baby animals like to be sung to sleep.  ~  It's good to have a reliable set of friends. ~  Those friends will pop up conveniently whenever you need them, and will have, or be driving, precisely what you need.  ~  Your family is very jolly, lighthearted and supportive, and always willing to go on adventures with you.  ~  When bad things happen, they will happen in very slow motion, so you have plenty of time to consult your friends or your backpack.  ~  When you travel to different countries, the first thing you must do is dress appropriately and then learn to sing "hello" in whatever language they speak there.  ~  Magicians and witches are evil, but very easily outfoxed by a 6-year-old girl and her monkey friend.  ~  Please really is a magic word, if spoken in Spanish.  ~  Always be nice to your enemies, even though time and again, they show up to try to swipe your stuff.  ~  The correct pronunciation of Tapir is "tape-ee-er."  ~  Aliens are cute, colorful little furry creatures who behave and speak like toddlers and have American names.  ~  When things work out in your favor (and in the end, they always do), you should always do a little celebration dance.  ~  Be kind to animals.  ~  You're nobody if you can't count to at least 10 in English and Spanish.

The "Bad Zack"

Zack has caught up to his brother, and can run the laptop.  He's so tickled with himself and we're thrilled, of course, that he's found a new and very valuable skill.

The trouble is, there are only so many computers in this house.  I try to keep the Doritos crumbs and milk spillage to a minimum around my laptop, so I'd prefer they stick to using the secondary one.  They fight over it, like regular 6-year-olds.

His favorite clip on You Tube is from Dora the Explorer (I'm sure that comes as a big shock), The Chocolate Tree.  He could watch it over and over and he stims (v. to self-stimulate; (specifically) among autistic people, to fixate on a comforting or compelling thing or action (such as rocking or humming); to perseverate.) wildly as he watches, screaming and wringing his hands until he rubbed a sore on his index finger (if you look at the pictures on the post right before this one, you can see it in the picture of him screaming right next to the trampoline). 

He gets himself so worked up watching it that I'm trying to ban him from it.

I poked around in Internet Explorer looking for a way to block just The Chocolate Tree videos from You Tube, but it seemed to want to block You Tube altogether.  So be it.  I blocked it.  But it doesn't work!  They can both still bring You Tube videos up on that computer.

When I try to remove him from the computer and redirect, he's pretty aggressive and out of control.  It brings out the "bad Zack."  He'll scream and cry and it's more than the screaming he usually does, when he doesn't get his way.  There's a breathlessness to this screaming, and his face gets all blotchy.  He'll pinch anything or anyone within reach.  It's much more tantrumy.

So apparently, going to "Content" in "Internet Options" and blocking http://www.youtube.com/, does not actually make it so you can't get to http://www.youtube.com/.  I'm not sure what function it achieves.  I'll keep exploring it and maybe I'll figure it out.  I guess it's just another example of technology getting the best of me.

The Toy that Wouldn't Go Away

I have tried to get rid of the Dora's Talking House several times.  I took it out of Aliza's room when she began using it as a stepstool to reach the top of her dresser.  I was going to sell it but the boys almost played with it.  And I had hopes they'd actually "play" with it - you know, appropriately, with Dora and her family and Boots and Mami and Papi and Abuela and the whole gang.  I even had Diego.  I had a Dora swingset, swimming pool, and van.  They did not play with it.

I put it away, and got it out again a few months later to get it ready to sell, and discovered it was missing the front door.  Come to think of it, the van's doors were missing too.  I can't sell a house or a van without doors.  I'd find one door, put it away somewhere, then find another door, and have no idea where I'd put the first one.  I couldn't manage to locate all the doors at the same time.  So Dora's Talking House got put away again.

I got it out this past week, intending to sell it in the Mothers of Multiples sale.  The van is long gone (not sold and profited from, but lost entirely), all the furniture and characters are gone also (ditto), but the house remains.  Empty, dusty, and a little dreary.  But the doorbell still rings, the radio still plays, and the table that folds out of the wall in the kitchen still says "It's time to eat.  Vamos a comer!"

I found the door.  I can't put it back on.  It hasn't just popped off, it's completely broken.  So, I guess Zack and AJ can keep their Dora house forever.

Oh, and AJ has lost 4 teeth now.  The score is 4 to 2.  This is the first thing AJ did faster than Zack.  Zack is usually quite a competitor, I'm sure he'll start knocking some teeth out soon.  Maybe that's how he'll spend his spring break this week.

Could it be?

Last night the boys watched "Blues Clues" instead of Dora or Diego, before going to bed.  And earlier in the day, AJ watched "The Cat in the Hat," the Mike Myers version, while on break in therapy.

AJ has been occasionally selecting Ni Hao Kilan to watch on http://www.nickjr.com/.  And he's been known to sit through Little Bear a couple of times.

Dare I dream that we are moving on from my little Hispanic friends?  Say it isn't so!  I'll miss them!

In other (Aliza) news, yesterday I was walking Aliza into school, since I volunteer in the library on Thursday mornings, and I stopped when I realized I'd left my travel coffee mug at home on the counter.  "Dang!"  I said, fairly upset.

Aliza sighed at me, and shook her head in a very parental way.  "Well, mom ... try and stay awake."

Painted hair and beads from Family Fun Night

Feel Good Friday: AJ's a Comedian

Check out the other Feel Good entries at The Girl Next Door Grows Up!

It's fun watching the boys' personalities emerge as they get more and more language.  AJ is quite the little comedian.

There's a dalmatian on the side of the new Fire Station tent we got this week -- just scroll down to the post below this one for pictures -- and when I asked AJ what it was, he said "a cow."  And his therapist and I laughed so much, that now he'll walk up to it randomly throughout the day and he'll make sure I'm looking, and then point at it and say "a cow" and giggle.

He also repeats a lot of what he has been hearing from Dora the Explorer for years.  I always thought one of their first words was going to be "Dora," and I wasn't far off.

Dora episodes are all about repetition -- something little Fragile X and autistic kids often love.  The Map always starts out by saying "I'm the Map" and singing a whole big "I'm the Map" song.  So AJ will say "hi, I'm the Map" randomly throughout the day.  He's mostly just talking to himself but it's so cute.

One day last week he started patting himself on the chest and telling people "Hi, I'm Dora."  And we'd laugh of course, so he takes several opportunities throughout the day to regale us with his humor.  He won't say it for just anyone.  There was a lead therapist here yesterday he doesn't know well, and AJ barely tolerated his presence.  He prefers an audience he's familiar with.  Maybe he wants to be sure he'll get laughs.  Not bad for a starting performer.

Zack is a little tougher to get to know.  His words have come slower, with more space in between them.  I still look at Zack and wonder about the little boy who seems to be locked up inside him most of the time.  But occasionally, when we aren't paying attention, he'll let a little personality trickle out.

The other day we were watching Diego (whom we love nearly as much as Dora).  Zack was laying on the floor on some pillows, being still and watching quietly, and I was taking advantage of the opportunity to lose myself in a book for a bit.  In this episode, Linda the Llama was carrying a bunch of books to the library when a big wind scattered them throughout a field.  "Oh no," Zack said softly.  He's almost 6.  I've never heard him say "oh no" before.

You have to understand that while he has a lot of words in his vocabulary, he is best at repeating things you tell him to say, or answering questions appropriately.  He almost never comes out with a comment without prompting.  It was momentus.  I stared at him in awe.  And he was so into the show, he wasn't even aware he'd done something amazing.

It's so awesome to get these glimpses into their little souls. 

Diego on the Wii

We have a Wii, and I'm always hearing about how great the Wii is for kids with Fragile X.  They are so often good at video games and electronics, and the Wii lets them move while playing, which is so great for their nervous systems and sensory needs.

My guys aren't into it yet, but I don't think it'll be long, judging from how adept AJ is at the computer, and how Zack loves pushing buttons on the mini DVD player.  They already show quite a bit of electronic aptitude.

As you may have heard, Zack & AJ are huge Dora and Diego fans.  So to get them interested, I got a Diego game for the Wii.  I figured Aliza and I could play the game, and the boys would watch -- being it's not that different from watching one of the Diego videos.

And my evil little plan is working.  Both boys watched intently.

Now we just have to teach them how to use the controller.