I am concerned that Geetle is stressing herself out. She worries so much about Pookie. She tugs at his arm, telling him to come along, walk faster, watch out, etc. She gasps when he wanders 3 feet away at the grocery store and touches the canned goods. If he carries a toy or book into a store, she takes it from him, so he won’t lose it. She has always answered questions for him, but the rest of this is new.

Generally, Pookie is a good kid. He does not wander far, he does not get into trouble. He is a lolly-gagger, but what 5 year old boy doesn’t drag his feet at Wal-Mart? BAGD and I are trying to teach him independence and how to manage himself. Therefore, we keep the leash pretty slack. We make sure he stays with the group, but if he wants to look at the “Coke vs Diet Coke” SuperBowl display at the grocery store, we let him. He comes back. He behaves himself.

But, Geetle worries. She thinks he will get lost, or hurt, or in trouble. Her heart is in the right place, but I don’t want her to get too stressed out. We have never said anything about Pookie being “different” in front of Geetle. We never even say “Autism” here. We say “the big A”. But somehow she seems to have figured out that Pookie needs some support, although she is not sure how much. We see that she does it with Giggles too, so we know that it is just her altruistic tendencies coming through. She is our Little Mother.

Pookie, for his part, lets her do it. He listens to her when she tells him to put his shoes on. He will hand her his Capri Sun if he can’t get the straw to poke thru. But he also will tackle her when he wants to play. So, while he accepts that she is sometimes right, he knows she is a kid and technically not the boss of him.

When Pookie wandered over to the OREO display at Wal-Mart today, I told Geetle to take the day off, that I would worry about him for her. She giggled and grinned at me, so I think she knows that she should lighten up. I don’t mind her helping me watch him, because she is polite and tender when she does it. She never yells at him, she just grabs his hand or tells him to hurry up. And Pookie does not mind it. But I do not want her to get too stressed out. I know how stressful it is to be the parent of a boy with autism, and I do not want my 5 year old daughter to go through that.