What I Hear at 5:30

One common trait among autistic kids is that they don't sleep a lot. Graham is exceptional in that he's generally in bed from about 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. That's not to say that he's continuously asleep -- I often hear him yelling "Mommy!" with some urgency once or twice a night. And he's usually awake before 6. This morning he showed up in our room at 5:30. When he appeared in the doorway, I mumbled, "Hi, Graham." As he clambered up to snuggle for his remaining 30 minutes of mandatory "you must be in bed" time, he showed his propensity for charming word choices when he asked, "Mommy, did you hear me clattering up the stairs?"