Routine is everything and right now he is struggling with what is happening this week. He stood next to me continuously asking me when he would be going to his grandma’s house. He’d go play for a few minutes and then come right back to talk to me again about when we were leaving. At this point, we still had about four hours before we were even going to meet his grandma. I work on distracting him and trying to redirect his energy.
A car parked in front of our house and a lady walked by with a dog. Both of these events caused him to ask me when the car was leaving and when the dog was coming back. He thought the lady with the dog was the one who drove the car. He wanted the car gone and he ran between me and the window for several hours asking over and over when it was moving. I can’t get him to understand they are allowed to park there and the person who parked there has no clue how stressful it is for Owen. Once they moved he was still upset about it.
It was finally time to go meet his grandma and we had decided to meet at Dairy Queen. He did pretty well while we were there. He saw a woman that he wanted to know about her pants and tried to guess her name. He stared at her and kept pointing to her. She started talking to him and he responded to a few of her questions with prompting.
He spent several hours with his grandma and then they met me so we could go to his vision therapy. He didn’t want to get out of her car because he wanted to make sure she was going to still have grey hair on Saturday. I finally told him that if he didn’t get out of the car we were going to miss his appointment and have to go home. He got out and we went inside.
The theme of the day continued. He repeatedly asked his doctor about her shoes and gum. He was able to do most of the exercises but still continuously talked during all of them. His brain never stops. He asked her about shoes she wore a year ago. He never forgets a thing.
We came home and he was much calmer. He sat with me for about an hour before bed. He was watching a video with a guy in a pool with a palm tree behind him. He said it was a pineapple. I said is that a pineapple? He said, “No sago palm.” Today was emotional. I wish I could help him through these non-routine days and make it easier for him. I have to focus on the good stuff. Tomorrow he wants to go bowling. I’m praying it goes according to plan. His smile is the bright spot of my day. Let your happiness shine through and watch it change the world. Smiles to all and donut daze!