I WILL NOT BITE
While visiting a friend I saw this piece of paper on the floor. Apparently, my friend's eight year old daughter suddenly and inexplicably bit a playmate, hard and in anger, while at the playground. This is totally uncharacteristic behavior, and in fact, at first I thought I had heard her wrong! Nobody could explain it. My friend was at a loss as to how to deal with this anamolous behavior. In addition to apologies, she finally hit upon having her daughter write out "I will not bite" a certain number of times.
The whole incident reminded me that even neurotypical, or "normal", children will occasionally act on some arbitrary and mysterious impulse. Henry does not (knock on wood) have a biting problem, but I am often distressed by what I see as his Out of Nowhere impulses. It was a good reminder that, yes, he is autistic, but at least some of his erratic behavior is, well, normal!