Gavin’s behaviors affect the entire family. Gavin can be very violent. Usually, it’s toward himself or his surroundings but on the rare occasion, he can attack those around him. Until recently it was believed that some or most of the behaviors were outside of his control. However, it is very clear that most of Gavin’s behaviors can be willful. It has become clear that Gavin’s purpose is to simply disrupt his environment and those around him. He is more prone to outbursts but typically, he’s incapable of controlling himself, he just doesn’t……
In fairness to Gavin, none of this is truly ever his fault. Sure he makes the choices he does but there is so much more going on underneath the surface. The largest one is the extent to which he is emotionally delayed. Gavin is pegged at about 3 or 4 years of age, emotionally. This means that Gavin is basically a toddler trapped in the body of an almost teenager. When he gets angry, upset, happy or sad, he responds like a 3 or 4-year-old would. So while he is making the choice at times to be disruptive, it’s just not that cut and dry.
The problem is that while he may only be 3 or 4 years old on the inside, he is much bigger and stronger on the outside. If a 3 or 4 years old had a meltdown or temper tantrum they would be nowhere near as dangerous or destructive as Gavin can be.
It’s challenging enough trying to raise a child on the Autism Spectrum. However, when you have a child with Autism and an ever-growing list of other problems it becomes ever more challenging. The other major thing that factors into this is when he is purposefully disruptive as means of manipulating a situation. We are very compassionate and understanding when things are outside of his control. Where the compassion ends is when he terrorizes everyone in the house with his meltdowns. The resentment begins to form after years of being a prisoner in our own home. For so many years we have been held hostage by Gavin’s meltdowns and that only adds to the feelings of resentment.
The other side to the coin is that we are a blended family. Trying to blend two families into one is a challenging task, to begin with. Instinctively, I want to protect Elliott and Emmett from Gavin’s behaviors and influence. My relationship with Elliott and Emmett is very different than my relationship with Gavin.
As much as I truly hate to admit it, there is a difference between Gavin and my biological children. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my Gavin, the Gavin I knew for so long, has gone away. Regardless of the reasons, it doesn’t make me feel any less guilty about it. I’m told that this is very normal. That no matter how much I love Gavin, there simply isn’t that biological connection. This is very difficult for me to deal with, but it’s something I’m working on.
I hate the fact that Gavin continues to behave the way he does. He doesn’t seem to care how it affects everyone around him. There is talk of Gavin heading down the road of becoming a sociopath. No one knows what he is even capable of feeling if anything at all. Simply typing that last sentence makes me feel sick to my stomach. Believe me, I know how bad that sounds. I also know how horrible it feels hear that about your son in the first place.
A really good example is when you get a hug from Elliott or Emmett, it’s warm and genuine. However, if you get a hug from Gavin it is mechanical and empty. It’s very uncomfortable and often times creepy. It’s heartbreaking for me because it never used to be that way. It wasn’t like that before Autism.
I don’t always know what to do with these feelings of resentment, not to mention the subsequent guilt. All of the people involved on a more intimate level tell me that feeling this way is normal. After all, I’m only human. Gavin has become The question becomes whether or not any of this is within his control, and if it is, why would he do that to the only people who have stood by him through everything. Why would he want to hurt us? The simple and crushing truth is that it just isn’t Gavin anymore. The problem is that no one knows for sure what is going on and what his motives are. It becomes “easy” to resent the stranger in the house that is hurting or scaring Elliott and Emmett. It becomes easy to resent the behavior that has cost us our freedom and safety. It is also easy to resent Autism for taking Gavin away from us in the first place and leaving us with a shell of who he was.
The irrational part comes in when I resent the Gavin that is here with us because his being here cost the life of the Gavin that was. There is so much grief and guilt that I feel every day. What did I miss? What did I do wrong? I wonder all the time if Gavin is still in there somewhere locked away.
Every day is an internal struggle to try to keep a perspective on everything. I have chosen to embrace my feelings both good and bad because if I don’t then the resentment could grow into something more. I understand that it’s ok to resent his behaviors and the choices he makes. It’s ok to resent the fact that he does these things on purpose. Sometimes it’s ok to even resent him for doing everything he does to every person in this house. But just because I feel resentment doesn’t mean I can’t still love him. Loving Gavin isn’t always easy but it will never go away…
My son is 5, nonverbal & has such bad spd I can’t take him anywhere or do anything with him other t… https://t.co/8SI8bnjtHZ
My son was diagnosed Autistic at 2yrs 7months x
I know you wrote this over a year ago, so I’m not sure if you will ever see this comment. I just wanted to tell you that the first part of your story brought me to tears. My son Tristan who will be three this June is also a victim of regressive Autism. I will not say I know exactly how you feel, because we are dealing with totally different child, but on many levels I totally understand. The process with my son was not over night like some children. It was more gradual, he changed around 14 months. My son was your everyday toddler, a bit of a puzzle master compared to his peers and still is. But he talked in 3 word sentences, could tell you he was one, responded, engaged in your conversation, he was charming in every way. He still is a very sweet little boy. But he is not the Tristan he was. It is more than heartbreaking. I love my son with all my heart and more. I totally relate to you about grieving as if a death occurred. I feel this way everyday, I don’t think it will ever go away. I do not allow this to affect my relationship with my son in no way, shape or form. But it affects me personally. I want to know where my son is, is he trapped with in his own mind and body. I don’t understand where he went. Parents of the Children who are born with autism of course grieve as well. But I believe those of us who have children with regressive autism grieve in a totally different way, that no one will understand, ever. If your child is born this way, then you grieve the loss of your hopes and dreams for your child. But when it’s regressive, you truly grieve from the loss of a child you once had. It awful, it eats me up inside. Of course I’m truly blessed to have my beautiful child in my life, I’m so glad he is here on this earth with me. That in itself should be enough, but it doesn’t take away my pain, from losing Tristan as he was. When I was a working mom, I would go to the bathroom at work, lock myself in and just break down and cry so hard. I wanted to fix my little boy, I cursed and blamed myself. I went through denial, anger, the deepest pit of sorrow, I myself was becoming and empty shell of my former self. I choose to cry and battle the autism demon at work, because I didn’t want my little boy to see mommy like that. I’m not sure if he would have understood that I was upset anyways. He does not respond to others emotions for the most part. He respond to laughter, which us awesome. :-). I truly feel for you and your family. I wish that there was a way to fight back. If the doctor called me tomorrow and said hey we found a cure for your son, you must come in an have your arm taking off to cure him. Well guess who would be walking around with one arm? I would do anything, I would scarifies any part of myself so that Tristan could have Tristan back, and so I could also have him. Thank you for sharing your story. And you are not alone with your feelings of grief.
This is a beautifully written, raw, and honest post. I do not have direct experience with a child on the autism spectrum but I can understand the conflict you are feeling. It is very human and very normal to feel this way and I applaud your courage to write about it. Others who feel this way need to know they are not alone. Thank you for baring your soul.
Rob–while every parent "mourns" the "child who could have been" when they get the autism diagnosis, your loss is, I think, far more palpable and more concrete than most. And your "loss" continues to an unknown. Good God. I can tell you that even though I am a teacher and I knew full well in my heart that Daniel was autistic, when we received the diagnosis, I feel the hell apart,. Just broke in two. Nothing had changed about my child. He still was the one who sits closest to my heart, but The Words were too much. And I mourned. And mourned. Annnnddddd mourned……(you get the idea).
Now, this is nothing compared to what you're handling and what you're facing. I suppose I remember "before autism," and how that was, but that's my demarcation–my child didn't change one bit. And for all that I mourned, we've been blessed to get so much of that "before" child back–you know how you give up all hope and then rejoice as the child makes progress–well, Daniel has blown us away like that.. Thank God. Seriously, Thank God. Because I cannot fathom personally surviving what it is like to watch a child "go away" right in front of your eyes, in spite of your love and nurturing. I am so very, very sorry that this is in front of you. You remind me that my burdens are really pretty light in the grand scheme of things and I wish you didn't have that job, no one should have to be contrast like that. I understand the resentment, to a degree, and oh yeah, I would be resentful and angry at the child you face–not a great thing for a parent, but a real thing, just one we're not supposed to mention outloud, maybe? Your honesty with yourself and with your readers is a a gift, and I thank you for that. We could do with more of it.
Best–Leslie
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