This is Gavin. Gavin is my 24 year old autistic son who has recently begun building his own adult life. This past week Gavin called me from the break room at work and was incredibly upset. He was not making a great deal of sense and only after calming him down could I really understand what was going on.

After a few minutes, I was able to figure out that his phone wasn’t working correctly and he was freaking out because he liked watching YouTube on his lunch break. He was frustrated because this disrupted his routine and he doesn’t like that. He was currently calling me from his watch because his phone battery had died and he didn’t know what to do.

He had a few minutes before he needed to clock in and thankfully it was enough time for him to regain his composure.

I explained that we could get his phone replaced but for the moment he needed to focus on work because his team was being evaluated that day. In hindsight, the evaluation was probably creating some anxiety and stress for him. His phone not working was like the straw that broke the camels back.

Elliott and I were out running errands and decided to stop in and make sure he was doing okay. He was surprised to see us but was in a great mood by that time. I let him know that his new phone was ordered and he would have it soon. He didn’t mind waiting as long as he know it was taken care of.

The rest of his day improved and he ended up getting a 99% on his evaluation that day.

Even when our kids become adults, we never stop being parents. This is especially true when our kiddos have additional needs. Gavin’s come a long way and I’m so proud of him. Sometimes, he stills needs a little extra help. Thankfully, we got through this little hiccup and everything worked out.