Today's writing prompt: "Water gives life. Water takes it away."
Moe is a sensory seeker and water is his first pleasure. It is almost like a drug for him; he seems to physically need that particular type of input. Put an open cup of water in front of him and he is perfectly able to drink out of it, but he'd much rather put his hands in it. If Moe hasn't had his bath for the day, he will seek out water in any way he can: splashing in the dog dish or fish tank, turning on the sink and splashing water everywhere, or pressing the lever on the refrigerator's water dispenser and letting the water spray on him.
Moe is a sensory seeker and water is his first pleasure. It is almost like a drug for him; he seems to physically need that particular type of input. Put an open cup of water in front of him and he is perfectly able to drink out of it, but he'd much rather put his hands in it. If Moe hasn't had his bath for the day, he will seek out water in any way he can: splashing in the dog dish or fish tank, turning on the sink and splashing water everywhere, or pressing the lever on the refrigerator's water dispenser and letting the water spray on him. 
This can be really scary, especially since Moe has almost no sense of danger. When Moe was around two, we went to a park with a lake near my parents' house. Although the day was uneventful, for days, I couldn't fall asleep thinking about what would have happened if Moe had run into the lake. I'd close my eyes and picture him slipping beneath the black water. A trip to the beach last summer required absolute constant attention because Moe wanted to run straight into the ocean. I can't imagine what would have happened when Moe got out of our yard if our neighbors had a pool.
The flip side of this is the absolute joy on Moe's face when he's in the water. I wanted to sign him up for an amazing surf camp for autistic kids, but we didn't think he was ready. I want to get him swim lessons this summer, though I have no idea how you teach a child with very little receptive language and no desire to imitate. I found a local pool with an adapted aquatics program, and may give that a try.
For now, Jeff and I are going to start taking the kids to the pool at our local Y (it has a waterslide and big mushroom!) and see how much we can teach Moe ourselves. Mostly, we want to just let him have a lot of fun. And maybe keep him out of the fish tank.
Big news! I'm going to be syndicated on BlogHer today.
Come back after 3:00 p.m. for details or follow me on Twitter (@wantapeanut).
