How a Severely Autistic Boy Chooses to Spend His Money!

Ezra won $10 to spend at our family cup game and Simon steals some chocolate before paying!
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[@user-eg8ht4im6x]

Ezra made a good choice and he looked so happy. I’d buy something to do with sewing.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah! He did a great job and had a lot of fun

[@BODUKE3201]

I think he made a good choice for somethin he loves. Very colorful choices 2

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you for sharing!

[@Tor_nado_89]

Its fun seeing Ezra going on a shopping spree! Does your dollar tree have baskets for him to collect his treasures? Or maybe get him a reusable shopping bag so he doesn't have to stuff things down his shirt. I usually go to the dollar tree for plastic silverware and paper plates so there's less dishes, lol. They also have little art projects around the holidays.

[@7Aheadfamily]

That's a good idea. I think he get nervous that his treasures will get taken away

[@Tor_nado_89]

@@7Aheadfamily Maybe let him put the stuff on the counter himself so he can see that he gets them back after purchase; try to engage him somehow.

[@7Aheadfamily]

W'll think about that. This shopping spree was very different for him, so he just didn't know what to expect.

[@DBK415]

Nice to see you give him some freedom. What would Ezra do if he was in a room full of cords? Ezra really loves cords. Cars might catch up.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you! Yes, he would love a room of cords. ❤️ he does like cars as well. 😊

[@twn1701b]

I think young Tobias would have spent his money on pencils (I still have *hundreds* of pencils but I usually do my art digitally now) or toy cars (I *hated* sharing a car box with my brother because he’d touch my cars and get scratches on them. They’re still mixed in that box and we’re well into our thirties). I’d have used the pencils to draw the toy cars too. I hope Ezra enjoys the new additions to his collection. Love to all ❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing! ❤️❤️❤️

[@tamaraanderson7260]

Ezra loves his cords!! I thought it was cute to hide them all in his shirt!!

[@7Aheadfamily]

I know. He was protecting them

[@malicemew]

My autistic brother loves chocolate candy, especially M&Ms & Kinder eggs. He doesn't ask for them all the time so we give it to him as treats during our outings. We notice it makes him feel calmer & happy.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you for sharing. Chocolate does that to me too. -Holly

[@7Aheadfamily]

Oh nice! Simon feels the same way. 😊

[@fiebigysgames4444]

Ezra looked like he had so much fun. I love watching him pick out all the cords and look so happy. It makes me smile. Great video 😊

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you 🤗

[@AnnGoslinn]

He was happy. It s great you organized shopping for Ezra.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes, thank you❤️❤️❤️

[@TentoesMe]

Well, he loves cords! I have an unexpected $35! Um. maybe not cords.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes he does 😊

[@galileasalamanca3129]

😂 Ezra con los conectores , son una familia bella ❤❤❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much! 😊

[@KimberlysWorld24]

Well for my son It'd buy painting stuff, teething toys (he bites us and needs that sensory, and stickers, anything car or bubble related and for myself I would buy more pots for more plants I don't need haha plus the cute lil garden planter decorations they have. My son has been very into hangers so I might pick those up so he doesn't break all or mine. 😂

[@7Aheadfamily]

Nice! I love pots and plants as well ❤️

[@mayday5716]

Ezra had so much fun. It makes me happy to see him choosing a pair of earphones. This is so awesome. Yes, he makes a very good choice. A good team of siblings 😀 and you Holly are really calmly 😆"we have wipes", okay

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you ❤️

[@zakadams762]

I dont fully get it but the coiled wires can definitely look nice! They are also pliable and hold a form, i imagine its very stimulating to the fingers

[@7Aheadfamily]

That makes sense

[@thomasschoeck9080]

1. Some observations on rewatching this video and 2. Three things I noticed while rewatching this video that may explain Simon’s Accident: 1.Just before you went into Dollar Tree Simon seemed to be showing slight signs of having to “go”. If you rewatch the video please look at the position of his left hand before you go into the store. Also he seems to be doing a slight “potty dance”. Therefore it’s likely that his bladder was already getting full at that point. 2. Simon was eating M&Ms. If you have been using M&Ms as a part of his toilet training (This reward system goes back to when I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s (although my mother did not use this method with me since she was unfamiliar with this particular method)).This may have both distracted him from his bathroom needs and caused him some confusion (It might have caused Simon to mentally check off “Already went potty” on his mental checklist). If so, he would not have remembered to ask for a bathroom break. 3. It was raining much harder later in the video. If you did Elimination Communication with Simon prior to beginning toilet training that might have resulted in some confusion. For example (especially in Elimination Communication), it is common to turn on a faucet (for example in a sink or bathtub) as a cueing noise to let a child know that is ok to “go” where he or she is. If this is the case it’s possible that Simon might have mistaken the sound of the rain for a cueing noise and that might have caused him to “relax” at the wrong time. If this is the case then the accident was probably already happening when Simon said, “Oh no, Potty!”. It is likely that he felt what was happening and then looked down and saw it as well. By the way this type of situation is pretty common during toilet training. It used to happen to me quite a bit when I was younger (from Simon’s age to just before I started kindergarten at age five, nearly six). My mother used cueing sounds with me and the sound associations worked with me for longer than normal. You might say they worked a bit too well. I would have frequent accidents in my car seat in response two sounds. One was the sound of rain and the other was the sound of the car being filled up with gas at the gas station. My mother use three cueing sounds with me. One was a psss… noise that she made with her mouth. Another was a tape recording of running water. And the last one was the song “Itsy Bitsy Spider”. I recently remembered this again when I was sitting on a bench in my neighborhood and one of the street musicians was playing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” on his clarinet. I told my mother about it on the phone that evening and she confirmed my recollection of her using “Itsy Bitsy Spider” while I was sitting on the potty chair (and later (at age four) the big toilet) as a cueing noise. Some other notes on the video: 1. It’s very good that Simon knows how to say “Uh-oh” (In response to dropping some of his M&Ms) and “Oh no” in certain situations where it is appropriate to use that phrase. From what I remember I only learned how to say those phrases a couple of years later during my time in preschool. I think I was in kindergarten (if not first grade) when I consistently understood and used those phrases, though. 2. It’s likely that despite the caption on the video’s thumbnail that Simon does not yet understand eating the M&Ms too early as form of stealing. Back in the 1980s I read in The Better Homes and Gardens Baby Book that children often only begin to understand the process of buying and selling (as well as currency denominations and the basics of making change) around age four (or even a bit later). That being said it’s probably not too early to introduce Simon to the basics of how shopping and financial transactions work. Considering both Simon’s age and his level one autism it might be a while before he really “gets it”, though. 3. It is probably pretty normal that Simon is not yet able to stop the flow after starting. You might ask one of his doctors or therapists for any tips they might have for how to work on this skill. It’s possible though that he will eventually learn how to do this on his own. It might take a while, though. Typically the skill of stopping the flow after starting (e.g. during an accident) develops some time in the age range of about four to five. In my case I was well into grade school by the time that I learned how to do this. I think I was at least nine or ten years old (grade three or four) by then. For the time being this pretty much sums up my new observations on this video.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Wow! Thank you for all the great advice and tips. 😊 You have a great memory of your own childhood. 😊

[@rebeccawalters4271]

Good for him

[@7Aheadfamily]

❤️❤️❤️

[@TheQuietpanda]

nice video keep it up :) its interesting to see wat esra gets with the money

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you! Yes it is. 😊

[@mysterionz]

There’s a dollar store near my house :D I blew $20 on art supplies there :)

[@7Aheadfamily]

I bet! That’s easy to do. Did you have a fun time creating your art?

[@mysterionz]

@@7Aheadfamily yes!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Awesome!

[@JonBrase]

Marie is really matching Ezra's energy around 2:25

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes! She’s so good at that. 😊

[@7Aheadfamily]

So true!

[@Healthy-sy3ty]

Wauw Ezra is really great at making decisions. He likes what he like ❤. I was 😂 because of Simon and his m&m’s but I bet you didn’t think it was funny at the time. I wanted to share a big milestone from my son. He can ride a bike with training wheels. At the advise of his physical therapist we took his to a store to look at bikes and he grabbed one and was off. We didn’t know he could do this and where so proud and suprised. Ans we bought a bike for him online. Can wait to seen him on this.

[@7Aheadfamily]

That’s so awesome! Yeah, Simon and Ezra aren’t quite there yet, but we haven’t spent much time practicing either. How old is your son?

[@Healthy-sy3ty]

@@7Aheadfamily He is almost 5 years old.

[@7Aheadfamily]

awesome!

[@ericlee6495]

Hey 👋 7 ahead family your kids want to buy something 😂😊❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes they do! And they buy quite a bit!

[@Bhird_K]

He Made an Amazing Choice!!! 😊😊

[@Bhird_K]

I would by lot's of things others like! and give it to them, or maybe I would buy lot's of fun, plastic-free, maybe wooden thingss!

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for your kindness!💜💜💜

[@cherylparkinson6136]

Such a beautiful family ❤

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much!

[@cherylparkinson6136]

@@7Aheadfamily My autistic grandson, 23 months old has started to cover his ears , Still waiting for his assessment! Is it wise to wait for expert advice on ear defenders ??? I just want him to be happy

[@7Aheadfamily]

I don't think trying noise canceling ear protectors would be a problem at all. We have an episode coming out on that soon, so stay tuned. :) ❤️❤️❤️

[@cherylparkinson6136]

@@7Aheadfamily Brilliant

[@7Aheadfamily]

❤️❤️❤️

[@user-zj6yh7oc2p]

That's so good to seem them happy. Do you guys remember at what age your Simon start lining up things? I am just curious if mildly autistic kids also do lining up of things and how does it look different than severely autistic kid?

[@7Aheadfamily]

Very good question. Simon did a little bit of that around 2, but nothing like Ezra. Simon does like order and having his things in order, and he is very good at puzzles. :)

[@carstorm85]

at Dollar Tree with $10 I would buy cars, cars, and more cars...and some of the Hot Wheels tracks!!!

[@7Aheadfamily]

That's exactly what Simon would do too!

[@thomasschoeck9080]

I can’t quite tell which types of cables he picked, but I could tell that at least one was some type of USB cable. Another might have been an Ethernet/RJ-45 cable but I couldn’t really tell even when I paused the video in a few spots. One of these days I’ll have to check that aisle in the Dollar Tree near me and see if any of the cables are something that would be practical for me. By the way, don’t be too worried about what happened with Simon on the way home. He’s actually doing pretty well for his age. I trained a bit late myself and I was about five-and-a half and in preschool when I was about where Simon is now training-wise. I basically just started training when I was his current age and I became just trained enough to get into kindergarten at just under age six back in the early 1980s. From what I currently remember my training consisted of the following stages: 1. My first successful use of a potty chair when I was around Simon’s age. You might consider either a potty chair or some type of portable urinal for Simon for situations like this when he’s riding in the car and a toilet may not be nearby. I didn’t have this (on outings) when I was younger and if I did my own training away from home might have gone a bit more smoothly. This won’t necessarily help for all possible bathroom emergencies but it might reduce the number of accidents a bit. I noticed earlier this year that certain drugstores (including some Walgreens locations) sell urinal bags (with a super absorbent polymer inside like what is inside a diaper) on the incontinence aisle that (at least in theory) allows portable urinals to be used without the risk of spills. You might want to give something like that a try and see how it goes. 2. Learning to use the toilet standing up (somewhere in the four to four-and-a-half year age range). My father showed me how to do this. 3. When I was in preschool at age five-and-a-half I learned how to use new bathrooms (beginning with the upstairs bathroom in my parents’ house and then the one at preschool). Later on I learned to use bathrooms at other relatives houses, etc. Simon already seems to be doing better at this than I did at that age (or even a year or so older). 4. I eventually learned how to stay dry at night. This can happen months or even a number of years after daytime training is complete.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing your story! That’s some great advice❤️❤️❤️

[@darkchipz3016]

He really loves cords I can tell, I think he made a pretty good choice, he's really happy when he saw those cords at the store Never heard of dollars store actually, what's it about?

[@7Aheadfamily]

Everything‘s a dollar. 😊 I think it’s more like $1.25 now though. :-)

[@kalegolas]

@@7AheadfamilyWe have dollarstore in Sweden to :) But we dont use dollars so its more known as just low price stores.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Oh. I see. ❤️❤️❤️

[@Pugcookies-2013]

Yes

[@7Aheadfamily]

Thank you so much for sharing. ❤️

[@emilygenerallee9071]

I would get some Hot Wheels at the dollar store. 💵🏬🏎️

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah, he would like that as well. 😊

[@rebeccawalters4271]

Balls and cars

[@7Aheadfamily]

❤️❤️❤️

[@ninastump7616]

I think he did. you ask if he is counting and he stops. Marie counted and it was 11 so I say he did a good job. Simon was so sweet when he said yes mama.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah. I think Ezra was counting too. He did a really great job! ❤️

[@KimberlysWorld24]

On another topic but related to you guys going out. A lot of the time my autistic son has trouble with transition. Like for example we will get back home back and he will get out and sit, scream, or rufuse to go up for a good hour. Every single time coming to and from our house and to and from like stores, Ect. Do your boys have trouble with anything like that cause I'm so lost and could use some guidance.🙏🏻💕 thanks for always posting daily.

[@7Aheadfamily]

I’m sorry to hear about your son’s difficulty with transitions. That is really hard. Simon has a hard time when transitioning from certain things like coming in from recess at school. They give him time and ideas to self soothe, but what helps him the most is a distraction. I don’t know how easily your son can get distracted, but with both Simon and Ezra, we have distractions and new things that motivate them in our proverbial back pocket. For example, I’ll have cords that I bought at the dollar store for Ezra’s underneath my bed. And I will also have some extra lightning McQueen cars for Simon. I don’t use them every time but in case there’s a time that is especially bad or where I really need him to be happy, I’ll take that out. If your a ok. Can make “deals” you could try that as well, sometimes kids need reminders before the moment too. If you know that a difficult transition is coming up in ten minutes you could give warnings to help him anticipate what will happen. Of course I don’t know your child at all, but I hope this helps, even if you just feel less alone in your journey. Thanks for reaching out. ❤️ keep in touch.

[@thomasschoeck9080]

How did you know when it was safe to introduce Simon to M&Ms? From what I recall I was at least six years old (if not seven) before my mother would let me have M&Ms. The whole time I was growing up my mother was afraid that my sister or I would choke on something. We’re both on the spectrum so that might have something to do with her concerns about this.

[@7Aheadfamily]

He actually got one and put it in his mouth and ate it without any problem. So we just got lucky

[@LifeWithShawn2024]

How will Ezra communicate when he becomes a adult going into the real world ? , will he still need supervision or what ?

[@7Aheadfamily]

That's a good question. We don't know for certain what he'll be able to do by then, but we are focusing now on giving him the most independent life he can. He can communicate right now through an iPad and we are working on helping him spell too.

[@LifeWithShawn2024]

@@7Aheadfamily Does he attend Speech class ( Speech Learning Pathology ) & How Long Will He Do So ?

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes, they do a lot of speech with him in his in-home therapy every day. ❤️ as long as it takes. 😊

[@LifeWithShawn2024]

@@7Aheadfamily does he attend the ABA therapy on weekdays or even on weekends ?

[@7Aheadfamily]

ABA therapists come to our house every weekday and sometimes on Saturdays.

[@aartiverma7879]

Lots of love from India❤. Why don't you check stem cells treatment for Ezra. I have heard it does wonder in autistic child. Please check on this.

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yeah, that is one thing we have not really looked into. Thanks for sharing. So true! ❤️❤️❤️

[@Aileen53]

How much money did they get😊

[@TheRoadGeek266]

$10

[@7Aheadfamily]

Nice! You must’ve been on the live stream. 😊

[@7Aheadfamily]

Ezra won $10 on our live stream. 😊

[@7Aheadfamily]

It was the one where we did the cup game

[@Aileen53]

Ohh ya I was on the live I must have saw him getting $10

[@catiehays3361]

I hope you clean the seats in your car good cuz it's gonna smell like pee..

[@7Aheadfamily]

Don't worry, I sanitized everything.

[@emilygenerallee9071]

Ezra loves cords all the time. 🔌🧩

[@7Aheadfamily]

Yes, he does!