What a scare!

It's been a rocky day in our house! As soon as Brycen woke up this morning, he just wasn't happy. He spotted the train t-shirt in his drawer and "insisted" on wearing it...it's short sleeve and it's absolutely freezing today. I gave up the battle after a couple minutes and figured it just wasn't that big of a deal. Then he wasn't happy with what I gave him for breakfast, but when I lifted him up to the cupboard to pick what he wanted he wouldn't point to anything else. Then when it was time to get shoes/coat on for school, he sat down on the floor and screamed. I tried his picture schedule which has worked well in the past when this has happened, but to no avail. He screamed and fought me the entire time while getting his shoes, coat, and hat on. Then he threw his backpack at me so I just turned and started walking out the door. After running after me, crying and screaming, he finally decided to put it on and get in the car.

12:20 rolls around and I am standing by the window waiting for the school van to pull up. I'm waiting and waiting... at 12:30, I start to get this horrible feeling in my stomach. I should back up here and let you know that I also heard police sirens around noon and though that is not a common thing in our small town, I didn't really think anything of it until Brycen was 10 minutes late coming home. I began fearing the worst...car accident. I didn't know what to do! Then the phone rang and it was my mom and before she even got the words out, I knew it was about Brycen. There was a bomb threat at his school and all the kids were bussed to churches nearby for evacuation while the school was searched and luckily the local news had said which church the elementary kids went to. So after calling the church to confirm, I loaded up Aubree in the car and waited in line for almost 15 minutes before I could get to him.
At this point, I'm sure all parents can empathize with the fear of not knowing where your child is and of course of the scare of a threat of harm to the school where your child is supposed to be safe. My fear went even deeper because I know how Brycen reacts to stressful situations, change in routine...and I also knew he recently developed a fear of school buses. About a year ago, his old school had practiced an evacuation drill like all are required to. That's all great and fine, but when dealing with special education students with sensory issues, you need to take precautions to make sure they are taken care of and not distressed anymore than necessary. Well, despite the teachers knowing how Brycen (and many with Autism) have a huge fear of loud noises...the backdoor of the bus that Brycen was getting into was left open so the loud siren-like noise was going off and of course, Brycen freaked out.
Fast forward to today...as soon as I heard they had bussed the kids to the churches, I knew there was a problem. Yes he did freak out when they put him on the bus and eventually was able to calm down once the bus started driving away. BUT he did ok...he got through and he seemed somewhat happy when I picked him up. A little nervous with the crowd of people, hiding his head, and making unhappy noises, but not too bad.
I guess I don't know what the point of this post really is and how it really pertains to his autism. I guess the fact that the situation could have been easier for him if past personnel had taken into account his sensory issues. Brycen has enough fears right now, and being that a school bus typically is part of a child's school years, it does upset me that they triggered a new fear in him that could have been prevented. Just like when someone suggested that I cut his hair in the bathtub. He loves taking baths, but hates getting his haircut. Why on earth would I want to put him through the trauma of a haircut in a place he enjoys?! I don't want him to start hating baths then. There is just so much to think about and be cautious with in children on the spectrum...and it never goes as planned, but at least we can try to make life's happenings as easy as possible.