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[lobosolo]

Our younger grandson had his fourth birthday yesterday. Davy is a cute little guy, very good-natured and cheerful but distinctly odd. For a start, he isn't toilet-trained yet. He doesn't really interact much with other people except for his older brother Tom. He plays on his own for hours, in a compulsive way, with toy soldiers or animals, and pays

Comments

[lobosolo]

He has already had a year of school. They start schooling at age 3 in Spain. They also have very impressive facilities for special needs kids. Davy has had a lot of individual attention, and the teachers don't seem at all bothered that he's still in nappies.

[a_trick_mind]

He sure is a cute little guy. He may surprise everyone some day and start talking like crazy when he is ready. I've heard of that happening and obviously he knows how.

[lobosolo]

It seems fairly common for younger brothers to rely on their older sibling to do the talking for them. We have heard of several cases of that, and the kids eventually get to speak quite normally, when they're ready for it.

It's good to hear that you were doing your bit at the G8 summit. I hope you're not too exhausted by it and that you'll take enough time off to recover.

[cool_moose]

Sounds to me that 'grandad' needs to invest in every book that Dr. Seuss has written - and serve up yummy portions of Green Eggs and Ham for dinner. It may be that Davy will choose Seuss-isms as an alternative communications medium. Autism is a possibility - but a mild form (Asperger's) is quite manageable. Hugs for Davy from Canada ...

[lobosolo]

Thanks Tom! In fact, both Davy's granddads probably have mild cases of Asperger's (although we have both learned to live with it), so it's hardly surprising if he has picked up a few duff genes.

[cool_moose]

Just 'different' - not really 'duff' - and the world is learning to treasure differences of all sorts. My grandsons have some unique differences - one is half-Chinese/half-Brit, another is half-Mapuche (Andean first-nation) - and our latest is Korean ! Lovely!

David

[anonymous]

Chris

Your remarks about David reminded me of a story about Albert Einstein. I do not know whether there is any truth in it, but si non e vero e ben trovato. Like David, Einstein started to speak very late and, not surprisingly, the family were worried. One day, however, he suddenly said "This soup has too much salt in it". The family were amazed, and asked "Why haven't you spoken before?. Einstein replied, "The food has always been all right until now".

Perhaps David will also be a mathematician.

Re: David

[lobosolo]

Lovely story! David's parents have considered this possibility. In fact, they often wonder what he will be doing in 30 years' time. Possibilities range from (a) living in a care home, needing full-time nursing to (z) accepting the Clay Millennium prize for proving the Riemann hypothesis.