Moo does this great impersonation of a child with a severe disability.

His impersonation is exactly what a person without any co-existance with a person with disabilities expects a child with a severe disability to be like. He makes noises. He tilts his head. And he ignores everyone who tries to speak to him.

I find it annoying cause I’m trying to change the world and how people see others.

Moo, on the other hand, doesn’t give a sh*t how others sees him and he is just being himself.

Case in point. Moo was getting his legs casted for new knee braces. The man who does it has met Moo many times and knows that he can talk and interact. He was assisted by an off-sider who had never met Moo before. The casting really freaked Moo out (as a side issue – I am so not looking forward to the hospital stay to remove the plates in his legs). He cried. He shook with fear. His hands went so clammy that he was sweating through them. I couldn’t distract him with anything although I really did try. All I could do was assure him that they were almost finished. Moo didn’t talk, he just grunted and cried and shook. He arched his back and stayed in the startle reflex almost the whole casting.

After they were finished, man went off and left off-sider to check and make sure Moo’s AFOs were okay. They clearly weren’t (too narrow) so off-sider went to shape them. While he was away, Moo and I were sitting on the couch, cuddling, and he asked me about helicopters. More specifically what the different helicopters were used for? I told him about the search and rescue helicopter, the police helicopter, the helicopters at the theme parks that take the tourists for rides.

When off-sider came back to try another fitting, Moo was asking me what other helicopters there were. And I told him about how farmers used them for muster. Off-sider seemed mildly surprised about Moo’s interests and then admitted to Moo that when he was a kid, he lived on a farm and they used a helicopter and quad bikes for muster. Moo’s reaction was as if he had found a new best friend. Gone was his impersonation, his inquisitive qualities showed through as the same person who I know and love.

Sometimes I wonder whether it is Moo’s shyness that kicks in. Or whether he knows that I am trying to make him a poster boy and it’s his way of saying, no – stop it.

I guess we will find out as he gets older.

Ps – he also does a great impersonation of Max from New McDonald Farm – honestly, splitting image – photo to come tomorrow.

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