Amy and I are both pretty introverted, from the standpoint of needing alone time to recharge. While extroverts derive energy from others, introverts need room to be quiet, away from conversation and contact.
Good luck finding space for that in our household, what with our little Miss Chatterbox yapping away from sun up to sun down. I compare Jada to one of those hyper point guards on the playground courts, woofing and jawing with friend and foe alike from the time they step in between the lines, as if they are doing non-stop color commentary of the game.
Jada's verbal onslaught is a combination of at least three factors:
1) Her echolalia, whereby she will repeat words, phrases, and sentences in an endless loop,
2) Her impatience, whereby even a second-long pause is cause for her to ask, "Can I do it now," and
3) Her energy, which is at max level for the entire day, with nary a break at mid-day for so much as five minutes of "room time" by herself.
Two recent examples of the final point to illustrate how tiring it is for two introverts to hang with Jada. One morning this week, Jada waltzed up the stairs so early that even I wasn't up. She proclaimed, "I'm awake, so no one else should be asleep now." Later that day, she was literally in her room for two minutes for "room time" when she came upstairs and announced that she was done with "room time" and ready to resume her non-stop conversation with anyone and no one.
Finally, when we put her and Aaron to bed, the chattering stops, and Amy and I can literally feel our psyches recharging from the silence. But, shortly thereafter, we fall asleep, aware that in a few hours, the chattering will begin again.
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