Alright, I have to be real honest here. Gavin in is driving me insane. I have no idea what’s going on with him anymore. It could be outside of his control, in which case I feel even more guilty for not having more patience.
The problem is that he’s not listening….or at least not remembering.
Several times now, today alone, I have had to stop him from telling stories to Elliott. I can’t trust that they are going to be appropriate, as typically they aren’t. See last night’s post about nightmares.
How many times must I repeat myself to him?
I don’t know if it’s teenage issues in general or if he honestly doesn’t remember the 6 conversations we have had about this in the past 24 hours. He reacts as though he knows he was wrong but seems as though it’s the first time this has happened.. If that even makes sense.
What I do know is that hearing him say “I’m sorry”, is like nails on a chalk board for me right now.
It’s not that I’m unforgiving or don’t appreciate his apologies, because I am and I do. It’s just that it’s constantly relentless and 5 minutes later he will repeat the behavior or decision he was apologizing for in the first place. It’s an endless cycle.
We have the exact same conversation, over and over and over again, throughout the course of the day.
I could honestly, and don’t think I haven’t thought of it, prerecord my responses and just touch a button on my phone to respond to him.
Anyone out there that is thinking something like, man you need more patience, is right. However,either you have never had to deal with this repetitive type behavior or you’re simply a better, much stronger person than me.
Repetitive type things, while largely benign, can erode the patience away from even the strongest among us.
I wish we could at least spice up the conversation a bit. Just switch gears every once in awhile. Maybe have an exchange in Spanish or something.
It really does ware on you and takes its toll. I’m only human and as such, can only take so much.
I have found that sharing my frustrations, helps me to better cope with the stress and maybe help someone else to realize that they are not alone.
Please feel free to leave your experiences in the comments.. Would love to hear what you have to say 😉
– Lost and Tired
Posted by WordPress for Android via Samsungs Epic Touch 4G (provided to me at no charge by Sprint) without the use of proper editing tools and disadvantages of a bastardized version of auto-correct. So please forgive the spelling 😉
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You are NOT alone in this one. This has to be the one "hair" that breaks my back all too often.
My son goes through phases when he repeats himself literally over and over and over every minute throughout the entire 14 hour day. Yes, it does make my head spin and at times I have had to walk away from him in fears I may loose my temper.
You are human, and we do the best we can. Period.
You are doing that…
And quite honestly I don't know if they can help what they are doing.
It is Autism getting the best of them.
At least that is what I tell myself over and over again 🙂
Kary
Thanks. Sometimes some of mine even talk in rhyme. Have you have that pleasant experience yet?
I have had that pleasure…
I've heard rhyme, haiku, stutter, rap song style…the list goes on 🙂
I keep telling myself any communication is better than nothing, after all I waited 6 years for him to mutter a single word, so I guess he is making up for lost time!
Hope you have a great day 🙂
My recent post The emotional balancing act of everyday life.
I totally hear you there. We were afraid Emmett would never talk as well.
He made progress, although his favorite word now is \”dammit\”.