Inappropriate Behavior

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…autism can be a wicked thing. One of the core deficits is the inability to understand social cues and norms. Throw high anxiety levels and an inability to see another’s point of view into the equation and you’ve got quite the behavioral mess.

Until recently, Alex was in a steady stream of trouble at school for inappropriately touching (little taps or pats), and in moments of high anxiety, hitting and kicking other kids.

He knows on an intellectual level that he should not hit, but his urges and impulses are strong and he has had a very hard time controlling himself, especially when under stress.

When he’s happy to see his classmates, he may pat them because he doesn’t know how else to express his excitement. There’s a positive side to this - it means he’s starting to enjoy and care for others in a deeper way. At other times, if he’s touched or brushed in to, he’ll do a “touch back” (a compulsion to make the interaction even perhaps?). When he’s in rare form, he’ll yell, start singing and refuse to do his work.

It is so very hard to separate the behavior of my child from myself. I find myself tensing daily as I pick him up from school, wondering if today has been yet another “bad” day.

Our team at school had a meeting and we came up with a plan that we hope and pray will remedy this situation. Alex has been temporarily removed from his typical classroom to a special ed class. The special ed teacher has graciously volunteered to train one full time aide to assist Alex with his struggles with behavior and schoolwork. Alex is also receiving help with self-control and we are proud of the progress he has made.

He will return to his regular ed class after winter break for short periods of time gradually increasing to the full day. If need be, he can regroup back in the special ed class.

Since Alex learned he had to leave his regular ed class for a while, he’s been very emotional. We can’t hear enough about how he wants to return and about how much he loves his 1st grade teacher. I think everyone in the entire school knows Alex loves his first grade teacher!

As much as I hate to see Alex sad, I find it wonderful that he is experiencing so much emotion and love for others. Also, his love for his class and teacher has been a good motivator for him to display self-control.

We are grateful for this new plan and pray that it, coupled with his therapy and the help and care he receives at home will turn this situation around.

Catching Up

I think I caught a bad case of bloggers block these past few months and am hoping to get back into the swing of things.

Just to catch up, Alex had his first semester break the end of September, beginning of October and we went on three family day trips - to the Sacramento Zoo, Fairy Tale Town and Apple Hill.

I think Alex’s least favorite was the zoo. He was doing fine at first (loved the giraffes) until we got to the monkey cage. There were two swingin’ kinda guys in there – a great show for we human spectators. Then, along came a lady and her daughter, approaching the cage as if they had some sort special communication powers with these creatures. The mom leaned forward and gave out a sort of chimpanzeeish kind of loud squawk. Wouldn’t you know it, the monkey’s repeated her, like in the exact pitch and everything...at double the volume!

I thought this was kind of cool until I saw the look on Alex’s face. The noise sent him on a panicked journey inside his head. Once he’s in there, it’s hard to get him back out again. Now, all he remembers about the zoo is how he doesn’t like the monkeys.

On a more positive note, both kids loved “The Crooked Mile” in Fairytale town. They ran the curvy path so many times that they were completely exhausted by the end of the day. We got them to bed extra early that night. Also, the hay and corn mazes at the various farms on Apple Hill were a big hit too. We liked Abel’s Apple Acres the best. I think there’s something to the patterns in these things that is very comforting to Alex.

We thought it strange that we didn’t eat one apple the whole day up there, nor did we take home a pie. When you have two kids and one with autism, waiting in a mile long line is not one’s idea of a good time. We did end up with an apple and berry pie for Thanksgiving via some friends. Now I know what the hype is all about. They were delicious!