After weeks of severe behaviors, Paul and I have a bit of PTSD. Every outbreak of behavior seems to trigger the feeling of "OMG, here we go again." A couple days of screaming and biting (admittedly hours every day, but still not as bad as the end of December/first several weeks of January) and we were ready to call the doctor about more meds. Today is a little better. Hell, I was in a store a week ago and heard a child scream and broke out in a cold sweat. I almost started running to him. It wasn't my child. I was there alone. We are still in reaction mode, control mode. But still, in relative terms this week is not so bad (although no one who doesn't have a challenging child would see it this way.) But both my husband and I are still on edge. Waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not wanting to do what we did last time, and progress beyond the first levels of autism/bipolar hell before we do something, anything. So when this started two days ago, we immediatel
We have one for similar reasons and we have used it. The hard part is it is very unpredictable- sometimes we use the pass and my son ended up coping well. Other days we have chosen not to, and then regretted being so far away from our car during a meltdown. I often have both of my children with me, and this adds a whole new element. We have had comments- the one that bothered me the most was from a relative who has witnessed the bolting, or the kicking/scratching and laying down in the middle of wherever with total disregard to safety. When my hands are full of items and my son is having a meltdown, I am thankful I can leave him where he is quickly, go to the car to empty my hands, and then be able to return to him while keeping him in sight so I can help. I would gladly give up that placard if it meant my son didn't have these difficulties to overcome. This is a good reminder for people to keep an open mind and assume good intentions.
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