Well little Zachary has had a rough few weeks but the other day was a real woozie. I seriously thought his screaming and meltdowns couldn’t get any worse. It did. On our way home from school Friday I pulled out of the kiss n’ ride and he started crying about his seat belt not feeling right. Joshua who knows all to well when things “don’t feel right” tried fixing his belt. The screaming and crying got louder as he complained it was twisted. It wasn’t. But to a child on the spectrum it doesn’t matter if we don’t see it twisted. He feels it and can’t cope. Just before we got to our house Joshua adjusted it again. I park the car in the driveway and all hell breaks loose as he starts screaming for me to turn around and go back we have to start all over. He kicks the seat infront of his and gets hysterical when I tell him we can’t go back.
I will let you in on a secret. When Joshua was about the same age if I did not take the exact route home every day the same thing would occur and he would beg through his screaming and tears to please go back and start again because it wasn’t right. This was before I knew anything was wrong and felt as though I somehow did something to distress my own child that yes, I would actually turn around and start all over just so I wouldn’t have to deal with a two hour meltdown. Thankfully gas was cheaper then!
After about fifteen minutes of Zachary still in the car hitting me, screaming and refusing to let me take his seat belt off I finally got him into the house where he screamed, ripped up a picture he had done in school, and then ran out of the house screaming for me to take him back and start again. I brought him back in only to have a meltdown of swearing, throwing things, hitting me, scratching, jumping up and down and begging me to please take him back. Finally he was exusted after about an hour of this and started banging his head on the chair as he rocked back and forth with his blankie. My 6 year old daughter Arielle and 7 year old son Sebastian were happy he finally had stopped and came downstairs out of hiding.
It can be difficult some days - okay most days - but as my little Ryley continued to sleep through it all, and my other 4 sat around Zachary (not too close of course) to listen as I read Zaks library book “Franklin and the dark” I realized that I couldn’t have asked for 6 better children.
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Ouch! I do not recall having tantrums over specific routines like this, but I remember one time there was a piece of food that I did not expect to find in my lunch, and although it would have tasted good, I cried over it. Took it home, smashed, and my mom ate it. I'm glad that at least I did not throw it away, otherwise I would remorse it for the rest of my life. Now I feel sad whenever good food gets tossed or moldy.
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