When someone talks to me about a pattern, a distinct image forms in my mind. I see 3 or 4 objects repeated in the same sequence over and over again.
A Pattern.
But since I started recognizing the developmental issues in my two younger children, that definition had to expand.
You see, Autism changed the way I view every part of this world. It changed how I have to see everything.
My twins started full-day kindergarten this school year. And, despite having some issues, it’s been a reasonable success. But we have had some “hiccups”. Specifically with my daughter, Ballerina, who just left the special education classroom to enter a general education learning environment. And with that change came several new expectations. She is expected to fit in with everyone else. She is expected to follow the rules and routines set up by her classroom teacher. She is expected to learn and not be a disruptive force in the classroom. …continue reading
My son hates doctors’ offices.
He developed his anxiety early on. I don’t know whether he associates getting shots with the exam rooms, but as soon as he sees one, he will cry. In fact, we were at a children’s museum with an area set up like a doctor’s office, and he cried when he saw the exhibit.
I now know that some of this anxiety could be sensory related. Maybe he smells things that I don’t. Maybe the sterile decor offends him visually. I think it is also a lack of familiarity. He has been a fairly healthy child. He only went to the doctor for wellness checks for his first two years. Except for the other appointments related to his developmental delays (speech and hearing screenings and his autism screening), he didn’t go to the doctor for anything other than a wellness check until he started preschool. Hello, germs!
I had scheduled his four-year wellness check for shortly after his birthday. I decided I needed to start preparing him now for the visit. While curiosity often overcomes Philip’s dislike of the exam room, he still gets upset when the nurse or doctor tries to examine him. …continue reading
