I feel like I am finally in a place where I can update this blog. The past 2 months have almost been a blur for me. There have been many days when I have looked around and went this really cannot be my reality right now. I never had problems accepting the fact that my oldest son was autistic But I had never dreamed it would mean that he would be near suicidal at the age of 11. That he would have to enter a behavioral treatment center. That those cost and the cost of his new medicines would cost us more then our rent each month. Now that is not a complaint. I am more then willing to do and spend what it takes for him the "get better". There will never be any cure for what ails my son.
What I have learned and more importantly what he has learned over the past 2 months is ways for him to deal with being out of sync with the rest of the world. We have gone from having 4 to 5 hr long meltdowns every day to maybe a small meltdown every 2 weeks. He will never be cured. The autism will never go away. I am sure once he gets started back in public schools in the fall the same triggers will be there for him. I am hopeful though that he will be able to manage his stress better. That he will be able to identify when he is getting overloaded sensory wise and will take his much needed breaks. We do breathing exercises at home when he starts to get stressed. We have done relaxation exercises. He has taken to being the "teacher" here at home with his younger siblings. He will see them getting upset and will try to talk them through how they are feeling etc.
I have found out that he will be discharged at the same time that would have been his last day of school. We are going to have a hectic summer. We will be visiting family in Missouri for a week, moving, and then we will have to go all of July and August with his father being in Houston for training. I am hoping for a great summer. I hope he can enjoy every day and not be stressed about what to expect at the new school in the fall. I am hoping for all of us this summer just brings fun. I look at him now and can't contain just how proud of him I am. He has come a long way in the past two months. I know that we will still have meltdowns. Nothing is going to go away forever. But I can honestly say that the future does finally start to look a little bit brighter.
