Autism/Special Needs, Daily Life, My Little Guy, Strategies 
2 Comments An Up and Down Day
Today has felt like a bit of a roller coaster, so inspired by this post, I am making a good and bad list for today.
Bad: Got up early to pack the Little Guy’s backpack with all the stuff he needs for daycare and playgroup. (Bad because I keep telling myself to pack it the night before, but never do.)
Good: Since I was up, packed tortilla chips and leftover BBQ meatballs from stamp party to share with training class at work. (They were very yummy and everyone was happy to get them.)
Bad: After several directions to get ready and discussions about the fact that we don’t have the choice to stay home and play today, screamed (yes, screamed, not just yelled) at Little Guy to go potty so I wouldn’t be late for work.
Good: Went into daycare with LG walking nicely beside me instead of dragging him in still in his pajamas like yesterday when he refused to get up and said I was hurting his brain by saying that he had to go to school. (So do the ends justify the means?)
Bad: Spent morning at work complaining about all the bugs in computer system that cause my job to take three times as long as it should.
Good: Got to work an extra hour and a half, since Thursday is playgroup and I don’t have to pick up LG from daycare, and actually got a couple of things done.
Bad: Spent the other two hours before the Little Guy got home from playgroup reading and on the computer instead of washing the mounds of dishes that are waiting in the kitchen. (They really need to be done!)
Good: Spent the other two hours before the Little Guy got home from playgroup on the computer instead of washing the mounds of dishes that are waiting in the kitchen. (Besides reading email and blogs, I got some much needed ASD HOPE stuff out of the way.)
Bad: Lost most of a day being angry and resentful.
Good: Repented of my attitude, met the van at the curb so the driver didn’t have to honk and wait for me, sat down and watched PBS Kids with the Little Guy instead of disappearing into another room, washed two sinkfuls of dishes and still had time to sit down and write this.
I am so thankful that God doesn’t lose patience and scream at me when I am not listening to Him. He just keeps reminding me of what He wants me to do and giving me chances to get back on track. So tonight before I go to bed and after I pack the backpack, I will dig out the old picture icons and make a new visual schedule for the morning routine. Maybe that will get me out of the trap of thinking that just because he’s “doing so well”, he doesn’t need the extra supports we had been giving him to process and respond to the world around him appropriately. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
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Tags: schedules, stressed out, Visual Strategies
Hoping tomorrow goes better. Our attitudes are so much a part of how things go… but usually by mid-afternoon I’m at my wits end.
As we’ve discussed before, the visual schedule can be helpful even for kids who don’t need it. My problem is that if I create one, it is only useful if I stick to it!
We all have days like yours and most of us as moms don’t have the intense stress of having a child with autism. You are doing a great job. Life is overwhelming at times even without the added difficulties that you face everyday.