Happy Birthday, Elmo!

Today is our favorite furry red monster's birthday. I can hear the Elmo's World music in the background and his signature laugh as I am typing this. Anybody who knows Erika knows that she is addicted (yes, addicted!) to Elmo's World. (For more information about Erika, and her life with Autism, visit Erika's World.)

I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some fond memories from Christmas, 2007. Erika was six years old. Erika has always taken Christmas morning in stride. While her same-age siblings are consumed with excitement well over over a month in advance of the big day, Erika typically shows little emotion about the whole ordeal. But Christmas of 2007 was different. Erika woke up that morning and, instead of being directed to check her stocking, she noticed that Santa had somehow managed to deliver a goldfish to our house. The first words out of her mouth that morning: "DOROTHY!"

And, of course, Santa would never have sent Dorothy to our house without her favorite furry red monster to keep her company. I can honestly say that it was Erika's best Christmas ever.

Happy Birthday, Elmo.
Erika loves you.

-Erika's Mom

Welcome to Erika's World - Mom's Blog

Welcome to my first blog post. Whether you are in contact with Erika every day at school, or you are a friend or family member, I hope you will find this blog to be a valuable way to stay in touch with the most up-to-date news in Erika's world. Please check back frequently. You can access this page directly from the Erika's World home page. This is my first commitment to blogging, and I feel that it's the best way to keep everybody informed for Erika's benefit.

As I promised Erika's teacher, I would like to share a link to an Elmo's World segment (forward to 4:20) which Erika has been watching quite a bit lately. If you have spent any time with Erika over the last few weeks, you will undoubtedly recognize some of the phrases from this short clip, as Erika has been incorporating them into her repertoire of echolalia.