Have you ever met a kid who didn’t love band-aids?  Geetle loves a good boo-boo because it earns her a shiny band-aid.  She loves them all….the odd purple ones we got in some first aid kit, the Blues Clues ones, even the plain brown ones.  When she gets “hurt” she starts lobbying for a band-aid, bringing her boo-boo right up in to my face, so I can see the gapping wound and be sure to award it a band-aid.   Then once she has the band-aid, she does her best to keep it clean and dry because she knows I rarely award a second band-aid once the first one falls off.  Pretty typical behavior for a 4 year old, right?

But what about Pookie?  He does not seem get the whole band-aid thing.  He will take one if I give it to him, but will never ask for one.  He could care less.  I figure it’s an ASD thing.  He is a real steady-eddie.   He is not likely to show enthusiasm over something like a band-aid because it has no real tangible value.  It does not make noise, it is not edible, it does not play games.  It does none of the things he likes.  But, just when I think I have that boy figured out…he throws me a curve-ball.

The other night, Geetle had a hangnail.  She proudly showed it to me at bedtime and asked if she could have a band-aid.  I trimmed it a bit and then returned to the bedroom with the prized Veggie Tales band-aid.  She was very excited and bounded over the to door to meet me.  While she unwrapped it (also part of the fun) I look over to Pookie, sitting on his bed.  He is fervently checking his knees and hands for boo-boos, turning his hands over to check out every angle.

Take that, Autism!