The Zoë Zone

About Me

Things I Like

Mama
Having a bath
Tickles!
Daddy
Building things (puzzles, blocks, construction sets, etc.)
Movies with singing and music in them
Nanna and Grandpop
Puzzles!
Using the remote control to navigate the "extra" DVDs that come with my movies, and to put on my movies.
Purple Cow
Cuddles and kisses
Being made into a cartoon
Playing with my "fill and paint" games on the computer (I even know how to put the CD in!)
Television, especially if it's noisy and bright (I love The Simpsons)
My sister
Chicken nuggets and potato wedges, yogurt, applesauce, and chocolate!
Anything salty, spicy, or otherwise flavorful (chips!)
Getting into cupboards, drawers, and boxes
Climbing on things (chairs, tables, you name it)
The Wiggles!

Things I Don't Like

Talking (I can, but I usually don't, although it's getting easier)
Being woken up when I'm still sleepy
Vegetables
Being bored
Being frustrated
My sister
People who think I'm bad or naughty, when I'm really just trying hard to get past a disability

My first name, Zoë, is Greek, and it means life. My mother came to like the name some years before I was born, when she was doing a Bible study in the Greek New Testament and the word zoe kept coming up (it's not what she was studying, but it was related). Since my father reads Greek (way better than my mother does) and they liked the meaning, that's the name they gave me. I'm told that it suits me very, very well.

My middle name, Elizabeth, is the same as Mama's middle name, and also a great-great grandmother, a cousin or two, and some other assorted relatives. Elizabeth is from the Hebrew elisheva or elisheba and it means God's promise or God's oath.

We're not sure what my last name means, but we do know it's a form of the English place name Bromwich, and that it rhymes with "homage". (I've already been told that people often mispronounce my last name if they only see it written.)

My birthday, 24 November, is sometimes on the American Thanskgiving holiday, but more importantly, it was the birthday of my mother's grandmother, who died long before I was born. Every time I have a birthday, Mama is reminded of her Grammy, whom she loved very much.

My hair is blonde, and my complexion is very fair like Mama's. I look a lot like my Daddy, and when we compared my newborn picture to one of his, it was really amazing how much we look alike. I look like him in later pictures too. Compare a picture of me with one of him at the same age and it almost looks like the same kid (except his hair was dark). My hands and feet look like Mama's, though, with long slender fingers and toes, and people say that my smile and some of my facial expressions look like hers. I also look a lot like my Uncle Greg did when he was little. Mostly, though, I look like myself. Everyone says so.

I live in Melbourne, and even though my mother is American, I'm all Aussie. Melbourne is a very beautiful city, with lots of places children can enjoy. There are lots and lots of parks to play in, cool things to visit and see, and lots of baby change rooms in public places.

I have a little sister named Miranda. She's two years younger than I am. I like to play with her sometimes, and sometimes I try to pick her up. We wrestle sometimes, and I give her hugs and kisses, and she follows me everywhere and wants to do everything I do. Sometimes I like that, and sometimes I just want her to go away and leave me alone. Sometimes she makes me very angry, and we push or fight with each other (even though we get in trouble for doing that). She can be a real pain sometimes.

I go to speech therapy and I have to see lots of doctors and therapists, because I have mild Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I have a lot of problems with language and speech delay, and problems with social interaction. This is a disability, but if I get the right therapy, I'll do really well and eventually be able to do anything anyone else does, pretty much. Right now, I don't really talk very much, but I can talk a little bit, and I say some words and phrases and I like to sing songs, sometimes ones I make up for myself. I'm also starting to understand what other people say to me much better than I used to. We use picture cards to help me understand and communicate.

I'm generally pretty good-natured and mostly happy, but I'm sort of emotional and quite stubborn, and I can get very vocal and upset when things happen that I just don't like. Sometimes I get very, very upset and I cry and cry and cry and thrash around. I don't like it when that happens, but I just can't seem to stop it sometimes. It's part of my ASD, and as I get older, it does get better, but sometimes it just happens anyway.

I'm not shy at all, but I'm often more interested in playing or exploring than in talking to people, so I just ignore them when I don't want to be bothered. That includes my parents. They're always interfering in my fun and they tell me to leave things alone or to get down or to move. Sometimes I listen to them, but sometimes I just pretend I didn't hear them and keep doing what I want.

I get bored very easily, and I get restless when I'm bored. And sometimes when I'm playing I try to do something and can't do it, and that frustrates me, and I cry about it. I hate being bored, and I hate being frustrated. Lucky for me, Mama understands this and tries to help me sort it out so I'm not so upset by it all.

I go to pre-school thee days a week. I really, really like it. I don't care much about the other kids, really, but I like my teachers and I like the toys and playing outside, and this year I have a special teacher who looks after me and helps me understand what's going on and what I need to do.

I also go to a special playgroup once a week. They work with me to help me learn to communicate better and to have better social skills. Mama goes with me to that, and that's kind of nice, because she understands me pretty well and can help me do things.

I really enjoy cuddles and tickles, and I like to be a helper girl, but since I don't always understand what people are asking me to do, it's sometimes hard to do it. I'm pretty funny, though, and smart, and definitely cute.

You can read more about Autism Spectrum Disorder on the web if you want:

Autism Spectrum Disorder Links

The Bromage Kids at bromage.org