Crash, Boom, Bam

 ~ Clearly Muddled Blog ~

Up until last week Josh seemed to be pluggin along just fine. He was working, going to his beloved D and D, and accomplishing his household responsibilities. Well, that last one was a big, fat, sort of! Out of nowhere though, he crashed…boom he was off the charts upset and bam he was down for the count. Emotionally, mentally and physically he was not even close to okay.

It looked much different than depression.  He was swinging from total agitation to total lack of affect. When I asked, he said his mind was racing with a multitude of thoughts and absolute nothingness all at the same time. Playing detective, we discovered that he had missed a few doses of medication earlier in the week. That makes me want to take medication!!

It’s tricky to know how far I can back away from guiding and directing Josh. The professionals call it transferring of skills. That means I show him through repetition how to do something until he seems to grasp what to do on his own. Ouch! My stomach hurts at laughing so hard. This issue is not that simple…this needs a code breaker…this requires Navy Seal level persistence…this needs unending patience.

I stand on a stage and tell jokes for a living. I need some transferring of skills! Immediately!!

The ebb and flow of raising an autistic son is more like the tilt-o-whirl at an amusement park. Sometimes it’s exhilarating and fulfilling, and sometimes I just throw up.  But, it’s the song we dance to, and we’re the chorus that repeats, over and over. I’m learning how to become a better dancer…looking like I’m fighting off a swarm of bees is clearly not working.

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Listen to the Podcast: Josh Has Autism #069:What Is This?| http://sonyaking.com/josh-has-autism-069-what-is-this