A String of Rough Days....

We have had some really, REALLY rough days...  A rough couple of months actually.  Complete shut down and refusal to do work.... Lots of excuses.... Avoidance.... ESCAPE....                                                                                        

Impulsivity and a series of poor choices led to some serious consequences both at school and at home.  Anxiety is at an all time high, emotional outbursts and episodes are happening more frequently (several times per day) and self-regulation is almost non-existent.  The behavior is hindering his learning and has become a distraction for the other students around him.  Decreasing confidence and diminishing self-esteem have stolen any initiative that he has been putting into his learning and goals.  

We are facing some tough decisions.  One option that we have discovered is a partial placement program through a local hospital.  This program is an out-patient program and will allow him to do school work on site, and will provide more intensive behavioral therapy and emotional support.  The program will last throughout the remainder of the school year, giving him the summer for a much needed change of scenery and a system reset...  Praying for good things.  Maybe they'll help us find his smile again... I sure do miss it.

We learn from our challenges.  We grow because of our bad days.  I still believe that God is working in my son....I still believe that he is moving toward a destiny and purpose designed just for him.....  

So here I sit and type the words...  WE HAD A BAD DAY... (I totally know you're humming the song in your head now!)  Just because we have a bad day (or a bunch of them in a row), doesn't mean that what we are doing isn't working.  It doesn't mean that we need to start again from scratch.  That just means we take some extra breaths...Take an extra long hot shower...Cuddle a little longer...Get some extra sleep that night and do it all again in the morning... TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY.

I know in whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.  2 Timothy 1:12 

I'm not moved by what I see...

not moved by what I feel...

but I am moved by the very Word of God...

the TRUTH.

Keep on keepin' on, my friends.  It's a marathon, not a sprint.

Autism Awareness Month

     

April is Autism Awareness Month.  Actually in our home, though, it's every day of the year.

Autism looks different on every kid.  Like a snowflake, each one unlocking beauty to a world you might not otherwise see... Steve M. Shore said it perfectly when he said, "If you've met one individual with autism, you've met one individual with autism."  It sometimes shows up right away in ways that are screaming you in the face.  Other times, it's a quiet shadow hovering, leaving you wondering if you've missed something.

Caleb's diagnoses came after a few years of being chased by that shadow... I didn't know what to look for, didn't know who to call...I just knew that something wasn't quite right...I knew my son was in there, but couldn't quite find him.  A friend put me in contact with an autism supervisor with Western PA Psych Care.  She turned out to be an angel sent to us from God and became a very dear friend of our hearts...for life.  She spent an hour and a half of her own time, listening, sharing and guiding me with what next steps to take... I didn't know that the end of that conversation would be the beginning of such a beautiful journey with my son... A journey that would provide constant learning and growing.  Ignorance will keep people in the dark, but knowledge will bring power.

I know that people say that it's not good to put labels on kids.  We don't.  Caleb is not autistic.  He has been diagnosed with autism.  He is not broken, defective or challenged...He is beautiful, different and challenging.  He is a wonderful, mysterious, amazing, bright kid, full of endless possibilities that happens to be going about life in a different way ... 

I'm quite fond of him.