Here in the Lost and Tired household, we experience a phenomenon with our oldest son Gavin that I’ve dubbed think to breath mode.
I know I run the risk of sounding like a giant a-hole here, but I’m simply being honest about my experience. This is in no way intended to make Gavin look bad or otherwise meant to be taken as some sort of put down either.
The truth is, right now I’m just a bit overwhelmed by Gavin.
I suppose I should explain think to breath mode. O_o
Think to breath mode is when Gavin enters into period of time where we literally have to think for him. Things like wiping his face, washing his hands, following simple 1 step tasks and just about every safety thing you can think of, all seem to vanish from his list of abilities.
It’s like every five minutes I have to remind Gavin either to-do or not to-do something. I can’t explain just how exhausting this is.
Dr. Pattie has dubbed this the Swiss Cheese Effect. Sometimes all the holes line up and other times they don’t, resulting in a pretty significant loss of previously mastered skills.
Typically, this loss of skills is temporary and he will quickly regain them, other times we’re not so lucky.
This is in no way a reflection of who Gavin is as a person. While there are times where he will try to manipulate us by pretending he doesn’t remember, there are other times where this problem is very real and most likely neurologically based.
No one’s been able to figure these things out and believe me, they’ve tried. Gavin has been this way for as long as I can remember.
With that said, this period of time is beyond exhausting, frustrating, overwhelming and scary. We never know how long it’s going to last and if or when he will recover.
I call it think to breath mode because it feels like I’m having to remind him about everything. As I said, it’s exhausting.
Hopefully, this time won’t last too long and he will regain his abilities soon.
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