ASD Life

There was a nice period there were I almost forgot that our lives include dealing with autism. We were distracted and he was doing well. 

Then off track happened. Uhh. I really, really dislike year-round school. 

One day I noticed there was just lots of noise in our house. I listened and realized there was extra moaning sounds and squeals. Lots and lots of extra mindless reciting of Winnie the Pooh lines. *Wince* 

The next few days I let him wear his silky sports shirts. That helped him keep his hands busy and his mouth so too (he still sucks his thumb as he feels soft things). I encouraged him to use his tag blanket as needed for non-auditory sensory stimulation. 

He go through phases where we are okay with occasional treats. Times like these, though, we watch the sugar and food dye REALLY close. None, zip, zero. 

There was one night he was up wide awake til 11 with no reason to be. My first thought was, "Oh no!" Lots of autism mommas don't know what a good night's sleep is even like. They often don't sleep well. But I've been letting short naps slide during the day and it's helped! We've not had any problems. 

There's plenty of days I still pray that these one-step-back moments can be worked on quickly before they stay. 

Then, once in a while, he'll overcome an obstacle I wouldn't have dreamed he would otherwise. This one took LOTS of work up to take on:

He also went in to the dentists a little while ago, sat in the chair, told the doc ALL about his tooth he chipped again, and was amazingly cooperative! He even got his tooth fixed (again) just on laughing gas with no sedation without any problem. I was shocked! It was a big day for him! 

He also picked up a new activity at the store. He'll watch as someone walks passed our cart, and if it's a female (don't ask why) who looks like they could use some amusement that day, he calls, "YOOHOO!" at them and puts on a giant flirty grin. 

So we're getting through our days of crazy, uncontrollable energy and stimming. We celebrate our victories and try not to make a huge deal of our setbacks. He's a HUGE sweetheart, and he seldom lets us forget it!