Thor intensive post.

Generally, I try very hard to mention at least something small about all of the Pantheon in each post. This isn't going to be like that, this is going to be a very Thor intensive post.

Sometime in the last week or so, a part of Thor's brain unlocked itself, or came out of hibernation, or woke up, or whatever you want to call it. We have been getting new words, in context, left and right, we have been getting appropriate, pretend play, unprompted, and we have been getting helping/showing/doing behaviour.

Normally, a breakthrough like this can be traced to something, a change in diet, schedule, routine, or medication. There haven't been many changes in Thor's world, so we are all at a loss.

Last night, when I told him it was bed time, he grabbed a blanket, climbed into my lap, and pretended to sleep, complete with fake snoring noises. I didn't tell him it was play sleep time, he did it on his own, completely unprompted. You could have heard a pin drop in the room, if not for the "kwaagh-shooo" noise Thor decided was snoring. Whn I have asked him to hand Buddha a sippy cup, he does, making a HUGE production out of it, but the cup gets directly to Buddha. If I ask Thor to go get Hermes for me, he does. Thor will try to say Hermes name, and if that doesn't work, he grabs his hand and says 'come'. He has also been telling us good job, calling us by names or titles, playing nice with the WonderDog, and letting me know that Butter is 'sure good, yep". Thor likes to try and eat sticks of butter-he likes the flavor and the texture, I guess.

Parts of me are thrilled, parts aprehensive, and parts scared. I am thrilled that all of a sudden, something is happening. He still isn't on par with other kids his age yet for speech and reactive listening, but it is getting closer. It is happening in leaps and bounds, almost all at once, a little overwhelming.
The aprehensive part is worried I will toss too much at him at once, and that he will shut down.
The scared part understands that, statistically, this won't last. He might not progress further, but then he might.
Autism spectrum disorders are one of the few disorders that people can sometimes 'snap out of'. It doesn't happen often, but every now and then, the affected person will just...well...be mostly normal. They still have to catch up from where they were, but they no longer have stimming, repetition, and are no longer vacant.
Thor was only two when he was diagnosed. This gave us a much larger 'what if' zone than if he were diagnosed at three. We never really knew where he was on the spectrum, other than at the higher end. We know he has sensory integration issues, and will probably have them his whole life, but as he gets older, we and he will learn more coping techniques. It may be as easy as tinted glasses, and heavy, thick bracelets-He may be forced to be trandy-Oh noes!!!!1 We know he is PDD/NOS-Pervasive developmental disorder-this is because, frankly, he has developed in the wrong order-and is continueing to do so. Things he should have been doing a year ago, he is just starting, heck, somethings that should have happened 18-24 months ago are just starting, but at the same time, his fine motor skills are off the charts, always have been, and when he uses is, his orginazation and labeling skill are off the charts. PDD will eventually even itself out, with a few really awkward periods. It's the NOS part that has always niggled at us. Not Otherwise Specified. They know he is different, they don't know why. He isn't autistic enough to be have autism, but he is to autistic to not have autism.
The doctors have always been honest with me-it could get better, or it could get worse-with his age it wouldn't be stable. I must be ever vigilant for signs of depression, bipolar disorder, and even schizophrenia as he gets older, as no one knows how his brain will protect itself from the sensory issues, and being trapped in itself until the speech develops.
I was cationed, time and again, to not hope for him to get better, because if e didn't, it could be crushing. And even if it is getting better, to look for 'lost' words and activities. If he is gaining at the loss of things he already possesed, it isn't any better.

It seems, right now, that it is getting better. He is starting to seem more and more like a 'normal' kid every day. It'll take time, and lots of work, and we will need to get him into a physical activity-probably gymnastics and martial arts-so he realizes he is stronger than most, and hyper flexible, but also learn control and restraint.
There is a chance that he may lead a somewhat normal life, and I can let myself honestly embrace that hope now.