The Journey Continues
Recently John once again emptied the contents of every bin, box & bucket in the toy closet. He then proceeded to methodically roll each item one by one across the coffee table landing in an ever growing pile of parts. This is the one behavior he does most often, the one behavior that drives me the most crazy & the one behavior I just do not understand. Rather than approach the situation in my usual frustration I was blessed with the thought to instead sit down beside John and ask calmly, yet exasperated, "Why do you roll & slide things?"
"It helps to calm my brain," was his very matter of fact reply as he continued to pick up & roll the toys.
Hmmm, I thought to myself, I finally get it! "When do you need to calm your brain?" I asked.
"When I feel angry, mad or sad," was his reply, and might I add worried or tired too.
I feel very blessed to have had this small moment of clarity where John could express to me the "why" behind these seemingly useless behaviors.
On this journey of autism my heart will forever be filled with gratitude for the new primary teacher who calls wanting to know what they can do to help John get the most out of Primary, for his ever kind one on one aid who lovingly & patiently spends over 6 hours a day with John, helping him learn to read, write, do math and navigate the social confines of school. I treasure the kind words from school teachers (whom he never had) as they share their observations at how much progress they have seen in him. My heart spills over with love & empathy for the parent of the special needs child as they experience their child struggling during the school assembly or at the grocery store. I feel blessed for the many whisperings of the Spirit that have brought (and continue to bring) understanding, guidance, clarity & peace to this Autism Mom's worried troubled heart.
In this little treasure trove of feelings & memories I find the comfort, strength & courage to be John's mom.
"It helps to calm my brain," was his very matter of fact reply as he continued to pick up & roll the toys.
Hmmm, I thought to myself, I finally get it! "When do you need to calm your brain?" I asked.
"When I feel angry, mad or sad," was his reply, and might I add worried or tired too.
I feel very blessed to have had this small moment of clarity where John could express to me the "why" behind these seemingly useless behaviors.
On this journey of autism my heart will forever be filled with gratitude for the new primary teacher who calls wanting to know what they can do to help John get the most out of Primary, for his ever kind one on one aid who lovingly & patiently spends over 6 hours a day with John, helping him learn to read, write, do math and navigate the social confines of school. I treasure the kind words from school teachers (whom he never had) as they share their observations at how much progress they have seen in him. My heart spills over with love & empathy for the parent of the special needs child as they experience their child struggling during the school assembly or at the grocery store. I feel blessed for the many whisperings of the Spirit that have brought (and continue to bring) understanding, guidance, clarity & peace to this Autism Mom's worried troubled heart.
In this little treasure trove of feelings & memories I find the comfort, strength & courage to be John's mom.
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