Crying

"He's crying again, mom," our younger son said to me, pointing out the obvious.

"Don't talk about your brother like he's not in the room," I countered. "Just because he can't speak doesn't mean he can't hear and isn't a part of what we do or say."

Yet, when you live with a person who is nonverbal, it is very easy to treat that person like an object. So much of our interaction as a society is reliant on the spoken word. That must be very frustrating for him---that is, frustrating unless he is using it to his advantage, which he often does.

Yes, he is crying again. He's been crying A LOT lately. It started with a bout of genuine gastric pain and evolved, I think, into many things. It seems that our son is expressing himself through tears.

He cries when he is sad.

He cries when he is hurt.

He cries when he is tired.

He cries when he wants attention.

He cries when he is mad.

This is a new development. It is an interaction, of sorts. It used to be that his emotions remained bottled. I would only truly see a cry of pain from him. That's it.

Now, I am noticing that he is crying for a variety reasons, much like an infant cries for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, infants have different kinds of cries--a mad cry, a sad cry, etc. Our son just has one cry.

Trying to decide what is behind his cry still takes some effort. However, I'm happy to do it. I see this as development. It allows us to see him more as a person who FEELS. More importantly, he is learning to SHOW us that he is a person who feels.

How glorious.

Oh, don't get me wrong: sometimes, I want earplugs. My nerves become strained, and I tire of hearing the same screaming over and over and over again. But, that's my problem. Not his.

Yes, he's crying again. He's crying A LOT. That dark cloud of insanity has been hanging over our house for quite a while now. But, the silver lining to that cloud shines brightly!

Pay attention! Our son is communicating!