Cracking up!

A lot of kids with autism have things that they do over and over again. Andrew does a lot of this! One thing that he is stuck on right now is his "jokes". In his speech therapy they have been working on pronouns like he is a boy. So, now Andrew will come up to me with a huge grin on his face and say to me, "Mommy is a boy. Mommy is a he." And then he will belly laugh! Then I say, "No, mommy is a she, a girl." More laughter!
I am thrilled that he is talking more and more. I am thrilled that there is eye contact. I am thrilled that we are seeing his sense of humor. But, Andrew really needs a new repitore of jokes! :) It's the same "jokes" in the same order, all the time.
It is very to break one of these modes. Because there is a reaction between him and me, he keeps up the routine. It's a way to have a bond with him that is not easy to come by. Now, it's come to a point where I need to decide if the "jokes" and the routine of them is becoming a hinderance to other things. The jokes can interfere with learning a new task. We have been trying to teach Andrew how to put the silverware away. But, in the middle of showing him where the forks go, he will start giggling and saying, " Mommy is a he!" So, is he still paying attention to the instruction or has he lost complete focus. This is hard for me. I don't want to stop the laughter and his interaction, but I do want to stop the ongoing, same joke routine. ugh...
I guess for now, I will just enjoy hearing and watching Andrew crack himself up with his jokes because I cherish every interaction we have together. The silverware can wait until tomorrow.