A short while ago, we read a Little Critter book about going to the dentist with Kieran and Cael. One of the characters in the book was having braces put on its teeth. Since then, Kieran has become fixated on braces. I don't know why.
When we were making cards for his cousin's birthday, he remembered that his cousin had braces (he'd last seen him at Thanksgiving) and wanted (me) to draw a picture of a boy with braces.
One afternoon this past week, when we were visiting my parents in Florida over spring break, we went to a nearby aquarium.
The boys enjoyed looking at the various sea creatures (the sharks were their favorite).
And, in typical Kieran fashion, he enjoyed saying "hi!" to everyone we passed. Only, this time, his "hi" came with an ulterior motive. When he greeted a youngster, he waited for them to smile and respond so that he could see if they were wearing braces. And if they were, he said, "Oh, s/he has braces!" For all to hear.
Although we don't encourage Kieran's overfriendliness (a characteristic of those with Williams syndrome), I haven't quite figured out how to handle it in public places. I need to be more proactive in addressing it with him but, usually, it slips my mind to talk about it with him until we're in the middle of a public place and he's greeting everyone he sees.
This braces thing, though, took me by surprise the first few times and, when I took him for a potty break at the aquarium, we talked about how he can think things about braces but really shouldn't say anything about them because it's not polite. That didn't seem to help, however, because he continued to look for kids to talk to to see if they were wearing braces.
I think he was more interested in finding braces than he was in the amazing variety of sea animals we were looking at.
Perseveration--fixating on one topic (in the past and even now, it's been weedwackers)--is another characteristic of individuals with Williams syndrome (and other disorders). And I haven't figured out an ideal way to deal with it--both with him and with others. Usually, I end up saying something, a bit apologetically, like, "He's been really interested in ____ lately and just wants to know if you have ___." Adults tend to be a bit more understanding, but this latest thing with braces and kids has me a bit more concerned. I know how sensitive some children are to their appearance with braces and don't want to them to think he's teasing them or highlighting something unpleasant about them--he really is just interested in the braces, quite apart from how they they look in them.
Do I offer a word of explanation after he's said something? Is this something I need to address with him continually before going out in public anywhere? (Probably.) Do I need to put together a social story for him? I really don't know. But if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear your words of advice.
In the meantime, we'll just be over here wondering if jellyfish wear braces . . . .
