The one thing I learned early on when dealing with an Autistic child is that you have to be flexible. No two days are the same--ever. Usually, no two hours are the same. My toddler's sensory needs can vary drastically from one day to the next and we never know what to expect. We have pinpointed a rough cycle that he goes through which lasts about six weeks, but even that varies.
It's become a sort of joke between my husband and I when we talk to new doctors, therapists, etc. about our toddler. When they ask us questions about him, we chuckle and our answer, "It varies." I also like to tell people that he is "consistently inconsistent." It gives me a headache just thinking about trying to explain the complexities involved with our youngest son to someone who is not familiar with him.
If anyone else out there is experiencing the same thing, just know that you are not alone in what you are dealing with. I've learned to be flexible in any and all plans, routines, and appointments depending on how our son is doing on a given day. It's not easy being flexible to the extent required but I believe it is a necessary part of being a parent to a child in the Autism Spectrum. Otherwise, I would have driven myself bonkers trying to keep to a schedule, routine, and following normal protocols laid out for a neuro-typical child.
I told my oldest child not too long ago that our family is not "normal" and will never be considered "normal," ("normal" being another family who does not have children in the Autism Spectrum or have special-needs kids). Just about everything about us is different from other families: our schedule, our routines, our environment, our meals, our family time, our bedtime routines, our bath-time routines, our nights, our days, our holidays, our vacations (if we take any). But, as I told him, that's o.k. It's o.k. to be different. It's o.k. to not do things like everyone else.
I'll leave you with that thought for today. I try to keep to a schedule with the blog and the website but, as I stated above, every day is different. My presence is now required elsewhere. I hope everyone has a great Saturday!!!
It's become a sort of joke between my husband and I when we talk to new doctors, therapists, etc. about our toddler. When they ask us questions about him, we chuckle and our answer, "It varies." I also like to tell people that he is "consistently inconsistent." It gives me a headache just thinking about trying to explain the complexities involved with our youngest son to someone who is not familiar with him.
If anyone else out there is experiencing the same thing, just know that you are not alone in what you are dealing with. I've learned to be flexible in any and all plans, routines, and appointments depending on how our son is doing on a given day. It's not easy being flexible to the extent required but I believe it is a necessary part of being a parent to a child in the Autism Spectrum. Otherwise, I would have driven myself bonkers trying to keep to a schedule, routine, and following normal protocols laid out for a neuro-typical child.
I told my oldest child not too long ago that our family is not "normal" and will never be considered "normal," ("normal" being another family who does not have children in the Autism Spectrum or have special-needs kids). Just about everything about us is different from other families: our schedule, our routines, our environment, our meals, our family time, our bedtime routines, our bath-time routines, our nights, our days, our holidays, our vacations (if we take any). But, as I told him, that's o.k. It's o.k. to be different. It's o.k. to not do things like everyone else.
I'll leave you with that thought for today. I try to keep to a schedule with the blog and the website but, as I stated above, every day is different. My presence is now required elsewhere. I hope everyone has a great Saturday!!!
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