Survey Says!

I learn something new everyday. Sometimes I learn two or three new things. And when they happen to be about one of my kiddos, it's an especially successful day. Take for instance the very interesting little tidbits we discovered about LM recently. (These coming from the psychologist who evaluated him for social and academic purposes.)

First of all, LM has a poor short-term memory. That explains soooo much. He's often asked to do chores which then don't get completed, only to insist, "I forgot!" when he gets in trouble for the lapse. Well, the doc informed us he probably really does forget. (Oops.) But if LM thinks this gives him a free pass for negligence or disobedience, he's got another thing coming! Knowing this fact about my boy will only mean that he's expected to get things done immediately, before they slip his competent little mind (oh, 'cause we also found out he has a high I.Q.). Poor guy.... I would like to welcome him to the fun world of lists, calendars and schedules-- they're going to be lifelong friends of his, I think. Now, as for his long-term memory-- that's another story. It tends to be more excellent than I would actually like....

Second of all, LM has poor facial interpretation skills. This means he has a very difficult time reading your face for information about what you may be feeling. In fact, he might not even recognize you at all. Your face matters very little to him, apparently. He oftentimes will see strangers in stores, or pictures of celebrities in magazines, or even acquaintances he's met before, and mistake them for family members and friends. (Pointing to a picture of Julia Roberts, he once asked, "is that you, Mom?" I wanted to say yes, but....) So, when dealing with LM, make sure you use other context clues to help him decipher what you're trying to communicate (tone of voice and surrounding circumstances help), because if you just give him a "look", he'll probably have no idea what you're trying to convey.

To help illustrate her point, the doc had LM look at my face as she asked him, "how do you think your mom is feeling right now?" I grinned at LM and gave him a little wink. He glanced at me and proclaimed my emotional status as, "horrible!" She asked him why he thought so, and he explained that I was probably disappointed by his test results. She then asked him to tell her what my mouth was doing; I smiled bigger. His response? "She's chewing gum." (I was.) The doc probed and coaxed and finally got him to admit that I was indeed probably happy and not disappointed at all.

So what does all this mean? I don't even know! But it's interesting, huh? I think what it could mean, though, is that I'm a lot better looking than I previously thought-- 'cause apparently Julia Roberts and I are like twins. Awesome.