Sugar Cookies

     My son was three years old when we received his diagnosis of Autism.  To say I was shocked was an understatement.  His doctor said his social skills were below his peers when he was about one and a half, but I had no idea we were heading in this direction.  They told us he might never speak and that he may be sensitive to touch.  He tolerated me holding him and even rocking him in my arms.  I determined to do this every day so that he would stay  used to it.  His early intervention classes through his public school began.
     A year later Child C was born.  We had moved to a place with an inviting convenient store at the end of the road.  My son began to wander out of the house when I was busy with the baby.  We had to put a hook way up on the doors to keep him in.
       A few months later we moved to another state.  Now we lived in a second floor apartment.  My son's wandering came to an end.  Instead, now he would run from one end of the apartment to the other.  He would make noises and stim with whatever toy he had in his hands.  We were told he was motor obsessive. Also about this time is when I noticed that his senses seemed to be going on overload.  We know now that an autistic person can have too many connections in his brain.  With too many signals being triggered, the person gets overloaded very easily.  My son would say the TV was too loud in the morning and then ask us to turn it up at night.  He couldn't stand to be dressed.  As soon as he came home from school, off would go all his clothes but his underwear.  Thank goodness!  He never looked up.  He preferred to look down at the carpet when he moved around. His appetite was very plain, mostly white colored foods of one texture. 
      We were able to overcome some of this.  The first thing I did was to take down every thing that was up on our walls in the main rooms and his bedroom.  This had an amazing impact.  His running incidents decreased.  He started keeping his clothes on,  Well, he takes his shoes off to this day, but at least he stays dressed. He started to look up and around more.  He began to give occasional eye contact. I also kept the house very clean and as neat as possible.  The least amount of clutter, the better it seemed for him.  Yes, my son has turned me into a neat freak now. I can think of worse things. 
      With my son less stimulated by his environment we were able to connect with him more.  His teacher said to keep talking to him like a normal child.  That even though he wouldn't respond or acknowledge, he was listening.  He taught us to place our hand along the side of his face and gently lift it until he was looking at us for important things.  Mostly I just talked to him and then would ask if he heard me and understood.  I would get a shake of the head or an uh huh in response if I was lucky.
      When I look back on these days, 14 years ago, the food I associate with him the most is buttered toast with cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on top.  He ate it daily.  Another favorite was sugar cookies.  Chewy, soft sugar cookies.  Here's the recipe I still use.  I have no idea now where I found it originally.
      1/2 cup butter (that's 1 stick)
       1 cup sugar
       1 large egg
       1 teaspoon vanilla
       1 dash of salt
      3/4 teaspoon baking powder
      1 1/3 cups of flour
      Make sure the butter is softened.  I use butter because I think it makes things taste so much better.  Start with the butter and add ingredients as you go down the list.  It makes a fairly soft dough that you scoop out in teaspoonfuls.  Place them two inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Oven should be 350 degrees.  They take ten to twelve minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden.  Recently we started to sprinkle our old friend cinnamon/sugar on them before baking.  So yummy!
       I hope at the very least you feel less alone now.  I hope I was able to give you some ideas to try with your child.  Make the sugar cookies!  They are plain, and one texture.  Your child should like them.
       Next post will be about potty training and a shortbread recipe.  Until then, take a deep breath and give yourself a hug!   Nancy