Autism As A Whole

How are family gatherings for you with your special needs child? Do you cringe like I do with the thought of going to someone else's house and around a bunch of people? These things are actually kinda scary for me. Then I have to wonder how he will react to things. Will he say thank you and smile when given a present? Will he have a major melt on their kitchen floor? Are these normal concerns? How do you prepare for holiday gatherings?

Yesterday we went to a family dinner, I know scary right? Actually the dinner part went really well and my sister was sure to have a drink that Charlie could have and would like. This shows some awareness and I am so grateful for that. She even made sure that he had a quiet place to go when he felt overwhelmed. She is really good with him. They used their best China (paper plates) which worked wonderful. Not only did it save her on dishes but it made it easier for Charlie cause he didn't have to deal with the noises from the silverware on glass plates. Whew, one more accommodation that, although there were other reasons for it, made it easier for him to cope with the gathering. My sister even turned the music off so that Charlie could eat at the table without his head phones.

Charlie did extremely well last night. I was impressed. He sat at the table and attempted to eat. He ate a lot of sweet potatoes and even attempted to try the Manicotti. Dinner was great very tasty, and it even included a little conversation. Some of this provided by Charlie telling his Auntie that he could eat sweet Potatoes all day long. Mind you he said this quite loud but nobody seemed to mind. Hey, it is better than him screeching or crying right? He then retreated to a room by himself to play in a quiet zone. He was playing with my nephews stuffed animals and talking to himself. It was really cute.

Present time, which happened before dinner was interesting. My kids sat down together to open presents and Charlie was opening but not really excitedly and not paying much attention to what he was opening. It appeared that he wasn't happy with it and that made my sister question her choice for him. Just so you know, he loved it. He just can't express it. He didn't smile, just took his box and walked away. No thank you or anything. I know, that was my big concern. Was he going to appear to be rude or ungrateful?

My sister, a little thrown off my Charlie's reaction, or lack of, decided to take him to a quiet place and open the box. They went into another room and opened it. It was a huge Sponge Bob floor puzzle. The floor puzzles have been an all around wonderful gift for Charlie that he enjoys a lot. His Auntie has been getting him them cause he enjoys them so much. It has kind of become a traditional gift for the two of them. I haven't told her, but I thought about purchasing one for Charlie for Christmas and opted not to in hopes that she would get him another one. She did and when they sat down together to put it together he was so happy. The evening went spectacular at her house.

The over stimulation really kicked in when we left. He had a melt down in the car because we unbuckled him and he couldn't find one of his stuffies. It is ok... we found it. *sigh* When we got home he flipped because he was asleep and we unbuckled him. Oh My he was kicking his feet and screaming like crazy. I wonder what the neighbors thought. Wait, they are accustomed to it now. LOL.. I remember when we first moved here and after a month the lady across the street asked me if everything was OK over here.

I tried really hard to calm him and pick him up but his arms and legs were thrashing inside the car and it was not possible. Meanwhile his sister was sitting on the other side of the seat dodging the feet that were flying towards her face. I, overwhelmed by this, yelled at her to get out. Looking back on the situation, I know that she was probably just as overwhelmed as I was and couldn't process getting out of the car. My boyfriend lifted him out of the car and I looked for the stuffie. I found it and brought it inside.

There in the foyer, was my son screaming at the top of his lungs. I picked him up and rocked him back and forth. He was still so upset so I proceeded to carry this screaming and kicking child up the stairs. I put him in bed and eventually he calmed down and went to sleep. I can't say that was the end because he woke up screaming in a complete night terror mode at 3:30 am. This lasted for an hour and a half. We fell asleep together but I was on the bottom of the bed because he did not want to be touched.

The gathering went very well and I guess even though I felt the aftermath, my son was able to keep it all together for the party. It shows that he is comfortable to let loose while at home and maybe he is learning how to control his behavior in public. All, I know is I was overwhelmed and tired but, I am proud of my son and his strength to get through  such a stimulating event.

Welcome to Thursday’s Special Needs Blog Hop. This is our last blog hop of the year as we are taking the next two weeks off.  Tammy From Autism Learning Felt and Stacie from Super Mommy To The Rescue host this blog hop.   They created this Blog Hop for Special Needs Bloggers to get together and support each other.   Please make sure that you are linking your post directly to the blog hop.

• A winter coat. cause I have not had a new one in like three years. I find myself bundling in layers throughout the winter.
• A van cause my car has broken and does not run. It would be better to have a van anyways cause then I could separate my children so they don't kill each other.

I am finding this really hard. I am hitting a road block here. Wait got another idea.

• It would be great to have a canon 28-90 mm lens for my canon eos camera as mine broke due to how much use it had. *Umm... yeah, I have an obsession. LOL
• An external flash for my camera
• A family gathering where everyone showed the same acceptance to each of my children and actually tried to interact with my son.
• To have one whole day without a meltdown over something that seems so trivial to me. LOL... that is a joke right?
• Almost forgot this one...... 2 boxes of hair dye... My hair is going white and I cannot figure out why. 

Okay... I think that is all as it was hard enough to think of that. I almost have a headache from thinking about what Mommy wants. I truly hope that when Christmas morning comes, I have a house of ecstatic children and I can enjoy the sentiment and excitement of the day. My son told me this morning that he wants a new orange bear for Christmas and guess what. I already found an identical bear for him. My daughter said she wants me to have a good day with them. My sister said I should go out and get myself something for Christmas but I just cannot justify spending money on myself. 


Well, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and even though the kiddos will be waking us up at six in the morning when we were up until 4 am wrapping presents but try to welcome it and enjoy the laughter and joy that they have. Take a moment to enjoy your family without worrying about all the trivial stuff. I make it a point to put breakfast items in the stocking so that I am not trying to stress over breakfast and stuff. Have a wonderful holiday!!!!  Now it is your turn.... Think about it, What do you want for christmas? I can't wait to hear from you. Join the hop.

Image via WikipediaI found this blog hop that I thought you all might enjoy.


Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post. Answer them, then link up!!

My ex loved his ugly white christmas tree. I hated it!!

Jocelyn's First Christmas

Krystal's First Christmas

Jacob's First Christmas

I decided to join the Flash Back Friday Blog Hop because as most of you know it has been a very hectic week for me. This will allow me to reflect on a happy memory from my past that I haven't thought about in a while. Because Christmas is right around the corner I think I want to reflect on that. The picture was taken on my daughters second Christmas. She was diligently trying to put her special ornament on the tree. It had to go on one specific branch. I remember the smile she gave me when she accomplished it.




To really show the significance of this photo, I hope you all don't mind that I post an up to date photo as well. Oy Vey, I am really getting old. She is now a sarcastic wonderful 7 year old.