The Gandhi of Autism

The Long (Bus) Ride Home
October 10, 2012 By Dilshad Ali

Lil D planking with Bluebell, our cat. Photo by O. Palsson

After all the kids came home from school yesterday, after we got through the first hour of craziness – unpacking backpacks, assessing homework, the requisite post-bus ride-avoidance-of-meltdown shower for Lil D and hearty snacks for all – I settled Amal into her homework and Hamza with a monster truck video on Netflix and headed upstairs.

Lil D was lying on his bedroom floor, which is how I usually find him these days. When I say that he is planked about 80 percent of the time, I’m not kidding. The boy spends more time in the horizontal position than vertical. We have been tracking and assessing as to why he is doing this so much. I always feel that being at his healthiest will help diminish his behaviors from the inside, especially when coupled with the Gold Standard in autism therapy – applied behavior analysis and behavior interventions. READ MORE >>