H is for Happy

On Day 8 of the A - Z Challenge, H is for Happy.

David and Michael are happy children, Michael more so as he takes absolutely nothing seriously.  He thinks everything is a joke.  


When I pick up the boys at their bus stop, David is usually smiling, but Michael gets out off the bus with a grin from ear to ear every single day.  


I'm glad they are happy kids, but Michael needs a balance.  Everything is funny even when it's not.  It is an issue we are actively dealing with.  When he does something he shouldn't and we either try to explain or reprimand, he laughs.  If I get frustrated and raise my voice a notch (it's the Italian in me I suppose), he laughs harder.  He doesn't seem to recognize consequences as he is always laughing, and eventually if I get a reaction from him, he'll say "don't worry about it".  

When half his bus was suspended (not him or David) because a boy was waving a used condom around, he got off the bus and was hysterically laughing.  When the house began smelling because there was a dead possum under the deck near a basement window, Michael thought it was hilarious.  When Michael upset his brother so much that David wouldn't talk to him, I tried to explain that he needed to apologize. David puts up with a lot from Michael, yet is always quick to come to Michael's aid when it comes to homework or pretty much anything Michael asks.  I told Michael that eventually, David will get tired of putting up with his joking around and sometimes outright nastiness.   Michael thought it was funny and could not understand why he should apologize. 

Hopefully we will succeed in bringing a balance of happy and a little seriousness and thoughtfulness to Michael.  The social piece of autism can be quite challenging and this is one of the top issues we are currently dealing with.