Coping with Autism

It seems that just when I think it's safe to relax, that's when I discover that relaxing can't be in my vocabulary for at least another 10 years--if that. Peter, flooded the downstairs bathroom. This time it was legitimately not his fault-- at least I don't think. Last week, just before we were to pull out of the driveway to visit my in-laws (a four/five hour trek on a good day), Peter slapped at the television screen for the car DVD player and snapped it right off. I still don't know how much that is going to cost me. The dealer rep who handles this hasn't called me back yet. Peter fell down the stairs while we were at my in-laws but aside from a rug burn on his shoulder he was okay. On the plus side, my nephew had a stuffed Mickey Mouse that he toted around when he was little and, now that he is eleven, he bequeathed it to Peter who promptly fell in love. So this much loved on Mickey is now Peter's sleeping buddy along with a smaller Mickey and fou...

My husband is off today which is unusual. Normally he works Saturday mornings and because he gets up really early (2:30 a.m.), he's exhausted by the time he gets home. This means he takes a nap (he falls asleep whether he wants to or not) and I have all three kids by myself for almost the full day with little relief in sight. (When he does wake from his nap, my husband is still tired and grumpy.) Today, I get a little break. I won't have to wrestle Peter during naptime by myself. I won't have to harp at Gabrielle to clean up one of her many notorious messes. (Why is it dads can say something once in that deeper voice and kids jump to obey?) And Nathan will have another person with which to play jungle gym. Now, if I could convince my husband to let me take a nap. . .

Autism can be very isolating for the parents of these special children. My husband and I have to make an effort to be kind and loving to each other. We don't often get to go out on dates so we have to make the best of the time we have together. Whether it means a movie night while the kids are supposed to be going to sleep or spending a few minutes every day really talking to each other, we have to have that time together so that we don't feel isolated from each other. My husband's job keeps him away nearly all day between work and his commute so I have the kids most of the day by myself. During the school year this isn't so bad-- the day is split up into many different activities. However, come summer, I have to come up with some creative ways of entertaining three kids without breaking the bank or causing a county-wide state of emergency. Most of all, I have to manage to keep my sense of humor and my sanity most of the summer.

Friday seemed to start out fine but then I received a phone call from my sister saying that my daughter's school had been trying to reach me. Gabrielle was sick and my sister was on her way to pick her up. While this was happening, Nathan was exhibiting signs of a fever but showed no other symptoms. When I checked his temperature later, he had a fever of 103 degrees. Strangely, Peter remained healthy throughout all of this and both Nathan and Gabrielle were sick only for about 24 hours. Despite these random illnesses, Gabrielle was recovered and well by the time of her Tae Kwon Do belt graduation yesterday. She did very well and received her red belt (decided) which is her last color belt. In eight weeks she will test for her "black belt recommended" (it's actual color is a red stripe/black stripe) so she can beginning training for her black belt. Peter is doing well with his potty-training. We still have "oops" moments but that's the same with every chi...

I hate forgetting things. I hate forgetting appointments or sippy cups or meetings with teachers. I write things down and still I sometimes forget. I think it's the craziness, the constant going-- meetings, therapy, school-- that can overwhelm my memory and the silly thing shuts down. I think that part of my brain gets overloaded. Today, I confused one of Nathan's doctor's appointments with one of mine and switched the times. Of course, I realized what happened about ten minutes into what should have been his appointment. I tried calling and couldn't get through so we had to drive down there and ended up rescheduling. I used to be able to remember meetings and appointments with ease. Once upon a time, I could remember things I read, where they could be found and what page they were on-- sometimes even a year or more later. Now I'm lucky if I remember to write things down.