Jr. Engineer

"Aunt Tracey, do you have any problems that can be solved by hand?"

This is B's latest question to everyone he meets.  "Do you have any problems?"

Aunt Tracey explained some electrical problems she was having and he quickly informed her that he couldn't solve that one.  Thank goodness he knows his limitations.  However, she did need something to organize her shoes.  He was all over that one.

Monday B had asked me for an old towel.  He created a dog treat holder/dispenser from it.  You put the treats in the top opening. Then when your ready to give your dog a treat you push the treat out the smiling mouth to your dog.

He told me about asking his friends at schools about their problems.  One little girl has an annoying little sister.  He used two toilet paper rolls to make a her a 'sorry phone' so the sisters can apologize to each other.  

Another little boy at school has his torn up up boxing gloves. B used a Kleenex box to create a pair of gloves for him.  The amazing part about this story, to me, is that all of last year and the first part of this year, B would have referred to this boy as his bully.  The boy just irritated B something fierce.  I don't think it ever became actual bullying but B did not like this kid.  Now here he is trying to create something to solve the kid's problem.  

The common thread in all these stories is empathy.  B wants to know what problems people have and wants to work to solve them.  There are some people who will tell you that autistic people have difficulty empathizing.  Horse puckey!  

I believe autistic people have communication problems.  They don't know how to express or handle the empathy they feel.  It may overwhelm them at times.  They may not have the skills to deal with what they are feeling.  

I'm proud that B is able to empathize with others and use his creative skills to help them solve problems.