Burrito wants an X-box

I know this because Burrito is always watching me play on the computer. I know, as a responsible parent, that he shouldn't be doing this, and when I observe this behavior I make a point not to shoot at anyone or yell into the microphone. I'm sensitive that way.

He is very interested in my activity, though. He wants to sit in my lap. I think, "This is a Norman Rockwell moment." I'd get a camera, except that if I take my eyes off the screen long enough to find one, I'll get killed. Besides, the room is dark, and the picture would come out badly. Burrito tries to help, typically by frantically banging on the keyboard or by using the mouse, and when I say "use" the mouse I mean that he drives his truck or car or bus over it. Especially the big yellow bus.

He's kind of a bus freak, and it's our fault.

When we learned he would have to go to school, back when he was first diagnosed with autism, we worried about how he'd do on the bus. He didn't like to ride in any vehicle that wasn't "Mommy's car" or "Daddy's truck," and even then, if you put him in the wrong one (the car when he wanted the truck), a pleasant, calm, 30-minute meltdown would ensue. We thought this whole bus idea would be a disaster, so we tried to soften the blow by acquainting him with buses. We began pointing out buses on the road and getting very excited to see them. We bought him a fleet of yellow die-cast buses (all identical, of course) to play with.

Well, when it came time to get on the bus, he did it. He had a few bad days, but in short order riding the bus became the best thing ever. Now, he has probably 10 different bus toys (not all identical! Progress!), and he drives them all over the place in search of bumps. He loves bumps right now. Everything is a bump. He takes things off the counter and puts them on the floor so that be can drive his bus, or other vehicle, over them.

Which brings me back to the X-box. An X-box is somewhat large (as game consoles go), and would sit in front of the TV in the living room. It's rugged, more so than a computer keyboard. It's also less sensitive to being touched or jostled, especially in comparison to a computer mouse. Thus, it is the best of both worlds. I get to play games. Burrito gets a new bump.