You're Trying To Bust Me!!!!!!!!!

I have to watch 'Rella closely when she's on the computer. She has figured out how to sneak and watch cartoons that we forbid her to watch.

Like many parents of children on the autism spectrum, there is a part of me that celebrates when I catch her deceiving me. Takes a lot of perspective taking, theory of mind, joint attention to lie. She will open several windows so she can quickly close an offending window if I get too close. Little sneak!

Today, I tiptoed silently behind her to peek over her shoulder to see what windows she had open. All okay. (whew) But she noticed me and she knew what I was doing and she called me on it: "You're trying to BUST me!!!"

I love it! There was something in MY mind. And past experience. And context. And meaning in my actions. And without my saying a word, she used broadband communication to decipher meaning and respond, appropriately. I don't know what level of joint attention that is, but I do know we have come a long way!