Category Archives: autism spectrum disorders

the next few days are going to be fun!

4062bfa0a115ca5452472219bd9e04d9Well, big sister stopped by with a friend for a couple of minutes.  They didn’t stay long, as David was in tantrum mode.

You see, mom got the bandages removed today, and we just can’t have someone else get more attention than he is getting.

So big sister and friend turned around and left.  I don’t blame them, if I had a chance to get away for a bit, I would do so.

What kicked off the tantrum?  I asked him to clean up his toys and junk in the living room.

Since other people’s stuff was in the area, he reverted to the stand by argument that “I am not supposed to touch stuff that doesn’t belong to me.”

In reality, he is correct, isn’t he?  But…

As I walked away he made some inane comments.  About what I have no idea, and it doesn’t really matter.

So since he knows he is moving to the facility on Sunday, he has declared that the next few days are going to be fun.

He is getting to the point now where he can’t keep track of which lie he told to whom.

 

Mr Helpful – Mr Evil

1280px-Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde_poster_edit2Honestly, it is like looking at both sides of a coin.

Last night was awful. Full tantrum because he needed to wait to take a shower until his mom had a chance to use the bathroom.

Today, he is very solicitous of her needs.  Trying to anticipate things, and helped take her to the clinic to get the bandages off.

Very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde behaviors.

So now we wait for the wave to crest and see how hard we hit bottom before we rise to the top of the next crest.

thank you everyone for your kind words about him, us and our difficulties with mental illness.  Your support means the world to us.

Seeing the good in our son.

As I have nights when I can’t sleep, I some times peruse this site to remember the things that we have gone through with David.

I realize that it isn’t often that I post the good things that we go through with him.

For example, I walk with crutches 95% of the time.  The rest of the time, I use a cane, or try to do without.  I don’t like to do without, but sometimes necessity calls for it.  Like when I mow.  Do you know how hard it is to mow when you use crutches?  So I often times just use the mower for stability.  It has an auto off feature if I ever let go of the handle.  David has been hot about wanting to mow the lawn.  So this week, I let him.  I showed him what to do, I started the mower for him, when he ran out of gas, I filled it.  But he did the mowing.

He was so proud of himself.  Heck, I am proud of him.  It was worth it to see the look of satisfaction on his face as we put the equipment away.  I also showed him those areas that we would now need to take care of by hand since our weedeater went missing two weeks ago.  He now understands why I was upset about the weedeater, since he is the one down on his hands and knees trimming the edges of the lawn near the house, and pulling weeds.

Last week, we removed a hedge row and a couple of small trees from next to the garage.  While we took frequent breaks, the only thing I did was run the saw.  David hauled all of the branches and small logs out to a pile next to the truck and then, once we were done, he helped load the truck, haul all of that to the landfill, and then unload the truck.  Two days of work, he did it like a trooper and never, I mean never, complained.  If I needed a break, he made sure I had a bottle of water and a chair to sit in.  And he worked hard.

Since our yard isn’t very big, there isn’t much to do until we mow again, so we are working on the riding mower, which he is begging me to let him drive.  (No, not going to happen)

I guess what I am trying to say is that while we have a lot of really rough periods with David, there are gems of good days as well.  I don’t post half of what we go through with David, rather, hit the highlights.  There is goodness in there.   We don’t see it very often, but it is there.  So I share this quote from Mr. Fred Rogers.  (Thanks to my friend Stacy for sharing this quote on facebook.)

mr rogers quote