He picked up the toy and shook it to get a look at the blocks. The sounds this action produced were quite satisfying actually. Brian gave the toy another good shake and was rewarded with more sounds. Somehow, knowing he was producing those sounds made him feel good, like he was in control. He sat back on his butt and continued shaking the thing, banging it on the floor over and over. It didn’t get old, in fact he liked the repetition.
“What are you doing!?” Rachel demanded, grabbing his arm to stop him.
Brian paused, realising Rachel was still sitting there. Then it hit him what he was doing. He was sitting there in his shortalls, toes wiggling back and forth, shaking a plastic toddler toy with a big stupid grin on his face. The smile was wiped from his face and he stammered, “I… I just… I dunno what happened.”
Rachel was shaking her head. “I’ll tell you what happened. For a minute there you looked just like a real toddler, grinning away while you made noises with that dumb toy!”