Frustration, it goes along with autism. I’m quiet often frustrated with Gavin. We were getting ready to walk out the door to go to school this morning and I noticed something wrong with his pants. The whole back side of his pants was covered in tooth paste. How do you get tooth paste on the back of your pants. It turns out that he had gotten tooth paste on his hands and so he wiped it on his pants and even the back of his school shirt instead of using the towel that was right next to him. Little things like this are expected but exhausting.
The other day Gavin was getting ready to take a shower. We have been having big issues with showering because he doesn’t rinse his hair. So we spent 10 minutes reviewing prior to him getting into the shower. He takes a 15 min shower. We check him to make sure he rinsed his hair. He still had soap all over his hair and in his ears ect. We made him get back into the shower to rinse. He told us that he never rinses anything he just wipes it off with the towel when he gets out. He says he doesn’t want to get wet. But that doesn’t make any sense because he will get himself wet in order to wash but them becomes afraid of the water so much so that he gets out without rinsing. I don’t understand his logic but I probably never will. We made him get back into the shower and rinse the soap off. He screamed the whole time like we were trying to kill him. Maybe it’s sensory but why would it only be part of the time? Why would he just be afraid to rinse.?
Everyday along our journey we meet new challenges. Everyday I’m surprised by what those challenges turn out to be. It’s often very frustrating and exhausting. This is just a small part of the overwhelming nature that is autism.. However, it’s these little things that tend to take their toll.
LT
I just have to take a moment to write and thank you for having the courage to be able to write about your world with Adventures in Autism. I'm a mom of 2 boys on the Autism spectrum. My oldest child Liam has similar issues to your son Gavin. He's Aspergers Syndrome, Bi-Polar Disorder, ADHD, ODD, Sensory Integration Disorder, and probably a few more things I'm forgetting right now. My younger son Jack, is high function ASD, ADHD. Just reading your post here sounds so similar to things we deal with on a daily basis too. Some days are just down right exhausting, frustrating, and overwhelming. Our biggest fight right now is trying to get private school placement for Liam because he is failing out of his current school. We've hired a professional advocate, and hoping we have enough data to prove he needs nonpub placement.
Anyway I look forward to reading your blog, and wishing you and your family the best of luck as you navigate your way through the world of Autism.
WOW. Thank you for the kind words. I'm not sure about courage but I'll take the compliment :).
I have to say the response I have had to this blog has been unexpected and amazing. My wife and I have felt so alone for the last 10 years. The shear number of people I have come into contact with since starting this a few months has been unbelievable for me. We are not alone. People like yourself are going through the same thing as we are. While that doesn't fix anything it does really help to know that we aren't alone. I applaud you also for being willing to talk and share your story. I wish more people would do the same. If we all talked about it the world couldn't help but hear our voice. I look forward to reading your blog and following along. Please feel free to drop by anytime and share your thoughts.
Thanks So Much