For the Love of Numbers

Me at a book signing with the Barnett family
(Phoenix was still a bump!)

With autism comes lots of challenges, but it also comes with some interesting quirks. Both of the boys have special skills that reflect the unique way that they see and interact with the world. For Phoenix, this special interest is very focused and distinct - He loves his numbers. He loves everything about numbers and counting.

Back when I was expecting Phoenix I read a book by Kristine Barnett called The Spark. I found this book to be truly inspirational. In the book she has a son with autism who is obsessed with math and physics. Instead of trying to normalize the behaviour she encourages it, surrounding him by the things that he loves. She calls her approach "Muchness" and believes that the secret to making him happy and successful is in nurturing his interest. Her son is now a teenager with a very exciting academic career in physics.

I'm pretty sure he could count before he could walk

Little did I know that when I met them at a book signing, that I was expecting a little guy with very similar interests. As far as I know, Phoenix was born loving numbers. His first word was the number two and his interest has only gotten more involved with time. He loves to count and group and sort and line his numbers up. In the spirit of 'muchness' I encourage this spark. I surround him with the numbers he loves so much and never try to dissuade him from his passion. It's almost like numbers have a personality to him... each one alive with it's own unique characteristics. He likes to line up his number puzzle pieces or combine them to make double and triple digit numbers.

I like to hope that this passion is what will open the doors to success for him in the future. I'm currently reading the book Neurotribes by Steve Silberman. In this book he looks at the history of autism and how society has treated this unique group of individuals. People seem to be starting to move towards the notion that instead of trying to normalize autistic behaviours, we might want to consider encouraging them, so that these kids can grow up to use their unique skills to create success, much like Kristine Barnett did with her son.

As Phoenix grows older, I am excited to see how his interest will evolve. Will he learn math as naturally as he learned numbers? Will he start to want to explore equations and branch out from just counting? Only time will tell... but I intend to provide him with anything he needs to help his little spark grow!

Counting for fun!