Everybody knows that Brycen does not do well with transitions most of the time. He gets mad on the weekends when I don't get him dressed right away because he thinks he needs to go to school. He'll cry, pull at the door, get his shoes, throw things, hit me, etc for sometimes an hour before he realizes it's ok and we have other things to do.
I am so, so, so nervous for this afternoon when he comes to the new house for the first time. I am also very excited, but the nerves have pretty much taken over my body and I wish some Autism-God could tell me it's going to be ok.
I tried to put off as much packing as possible of the visible things to help guide him through this. He would watch me pack boxes, follow me around, look inside and a few times he even grabbed things out that I was putting in. Unfortunately due to meetings on the day before the move, I was forced to do a bunch of packing in his presence the last couple days. Overall, he did ok. When I think back, I notice he was definitely more hyperactive, more irritable and crying over smaller things than normal, and like I predicted, even more aggressive towards Aubree. But overall, it wasn't that bad. He has spent the last several days with my parents in Evansdale as we knew we could not allow him to see our belongings moved onto a big semi. Though I did figure, he would have loved to see the semi parked in front of our house...but I did not even entertain the thought of having him at either house for the pack up and unload. We also have not allowed him to see the new house before this as we have determined it is easier for him to accept the new house with his belongings in it, instead of a new house with the previous tenants belongings or empty.
So today is a big, big day for him! The last time we moved to the different house in SL, he was still regressing and we weren't sure what was going on. The move before that to Storm Lake, he wasn't even one years old yet, so as you know, he was still considered "neuro-typical" at that time. It really didn't phase him then. A lot has changed in the last couple years and we need to protect him more than ever from these upcoming transitions.
So while this move is very exciting and very much needed for us at this time, the next 10 or so years of our life will be a roller coaster for Brycen, as each move will probably present different challenges as he gets older. Even if he walks into the house, running and happy today...we know that doesn't mean the transition is over. It's actually just begun as he has a new school to start at, new neighborhood and parks to get used to, new therapists to work with, new Fareway store to put together with where we can find Daddy now, new Wal-mart with different layout, new everything. While some kids wouldn't even be phased at a new store they visited, I'm not sure how Brycen will grasp and comprehend his Daddy in a whole different environment. The transition will probably take months.
I've had multiple people email or ask me how I think he will handle it. That's the thing with Autism, you just never know. It could go far better than expected, or far worse than expected...so I guess we just don't set expectations for things like this because nobody can predict anything. He may be fine for a week or two, and then all of a sudden have two meltdowns in a week or refuse to go to school willingly, or cry/make more noises. OR this could be a fantastic environment for him and maybe we will see an improvement in speech right away! Nobody knows...so I'm not ignoring your question (well, actually I am!), but I really can't answer that because I really don't even want to think past getting him through the first glance and walk through of his new home. Everything else we will just take day by day, minute by minute if needed.
"When one door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller
Thursday, September 30, 2010
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Autism and Our Family
"Autism"----It's one word that can change the life of a child and family in so many ways. Autism Spectrum Disorders are being diagnosed at a rate of 1 in 68 children currently. If you do not already know someone that has been diagnosed, the statistics say it won't be long before you do.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
Our son developed typically until around the time he turned 2 years old. We heard words...we saw him play with other kids...we watched as he played with his toys appropriately...we made eye contact with him...overall we understood his wants and needs. In a matter of a few months, that was all taken away from him. He began lining up toys, lost all of his words and signs except for one word "ball", ignored other kids, could not sleep through the night, lost eye contact and the ability to follow directions, and he had no way of letting us know what he wanted or how he felt. It was heartbreaking to see something happening to our child that we couldn't stop!
Brycen began receiving home therapy 1-2 times per month for about 6 months before we realized it wasn't just developmental delays. We knew it was Autism...we just didn't want to say it outloud to anyone. He was officially diagnosed with Autism (classic form and regressive), as well as Mental Retardation in August 2009 by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
We continue to learn as we make our way through this journey with Brycen and we will continue to share this journey with you on this blog! The blog has been a great therapy for us to be able to vent our frustrations and struggles with accepting that we have a child with special needs, while sharing how blessed we are to have a child teach us what life truly means. It has also been a great way to inform others of his progress and changes over the last couple of years.
Thank you for your support of Brycen and our family! We hope you are able to learn something through this blog no matter if you are a parent of a child with special needs or a neurotypical child, a teacher or therapist, a family member, or just someone that is interested in the journey that a family goes on as they learn their child is battling a life-long disorder.
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