Chuck E. Cheese and the Lining Up of Objects

Sunday we met Rod, Rhonda & little Madeline at Chuck E. Cheese. Brian, Janeen and their girls called just as we had arrived and decided to come along as well. They had never done the Chucke E. Cheese thing before with their kids so they may have been a tad nervous. I think everyone had a great time.

When you first arrive at you notice the noise level. It can be quite loud. It is always a shock to me. Maizie has learned to take it all in stride. The first thing we do is place our order and purchase tokens. Dinner and a hundred tokens keeps us busy for about two and a half hours. I remember when our trips were only about thirty minutes long. Progress!Ever since Maizie was a toddler she liked to put things in some sort of order. Many times it did not make sense to me but for her these "arrangements" of objects were important. The first thing she did as a toddler that made me wonder was when she would repeatedly get up in the middle of the night and put all of her toys, clothes, everything she owned under her twin sized bed. I would wake to find everything fit so tightly under her bed I could barely pull anything out. At first I was in awe. I carefully put everything away and hoped she would never do it again. Much to my amazement she continued this nightly activity for weeks. There were many mornings I just stood there and cried from exhaustion.

Without really realizing what we were doing, we taught her activities to replace this ritual with. Sorting and pushing play doh into meticulous little chunks kept her busy for a while. I remember showing her how to play with Little People figurines. She really had no interest in role playing with them but lining them up peaked her interest. So, we lined them up together. Little by little the lining up of toys replaced her night time job of pushing all her belongings under the bed. Whew. I was so glad when she moved on from that. Instead of a big mess I woke to find her toys in carefully constructed rows or circles around her room.Maizie's interest in aligning things is still alive and well. Before she played any games she began sorting her tokens according to years. We had fun helping her put the years in order. Maizie wanted to find a token of the year she was born. Yes! A way to talk a bit about the passage of time and years. There was only one token from 1997! So...she saved that coin for last. Very cute.

I have noticed areas where her desire to place things in rows has helped her learn a skill. Puzzles is the biggest area of increasing skill. Maizie will lay out the puzzle pieces in rows around her desk. Over time she has begun organizing them according to colors or edges. She does not do that every time but is toying with this new organizational method and is becoming quite good at it.

Now, if we could only get these lining up skills transferred to understanding the passage of time, understanding a calendar, simple addition, subtraction and remembering important personal information.

Just like in the movie Kung Fu Panda...I have to adjust my attitude and teach her in unique ways. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. It just takes a bit more time, patience and creativity.

What repetitive activities does your child with special needs do that has benefited him or her in other areas?