When our son Jade started speaking and developing his own voice (personality), we realized he had opinions and knew what he liked and disliked. We saw that he had his own sense of humor and wit. He would do and say things that seemed to come out of nowhere. Frank and I would just look at each other, laugh, and say, “Where did that come from?” 

One time, he thought it was ok to say, “Oh, look at that big bum bum!!” Yeah, I know it sounds funny …until you’re standing in line at Walmart, and he says it to the lady in front of you!! 

At first, It was hard to understand why he was saying it, where he learned it, and how to help him understand when it was okay and when it was not ok. That’s when we realized that Jade’s way of thinking was simple. Things were either black or white or went up and down or in and out. His brain did not understand the complexities and nuances of life. In his world, ice cream did not come from cows; it came from refrigerators. So, we developed a Golden Rule when communicating with him: Keep it Simple.  

Keeping it simple started to work into every dimension of our life with Jade. When we took him to zoos and amusement parks, we kept it simple. We would make a plan, but plans were no longer set in stone; things were much more flexible. When he would run to the lion’s cage, skip the tigers, and start asking where the ducks were. In our mind, we wanted to say, no, no, no, Jade, you really need to see the tigers; you are going to love the tigers! But in Jade’s mind, he wanted to watch baby ducks swim by, so watching baby ducks swim by it was. 

Trying to see the world as he sees it has been challenging yet enlightening. We have found that he has a great imagination. I no longer wonder why he comes down the stairs dressed as Jason Momoa in the morning; instead, I wonder what Jason Momoa eats for breakfast. 

We try to keep him in the real world, but not so much that we don’t visit his. We Keep things Simple and fun, and we never get bored.