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Wednesday, June 18, 2008


Living in "A-ville"


I haven't been blogging in a few weeks....the water has been a little rough around here for our boy Luke. Luke is 8 years old, with high-functioning autism. He seems to be going through a bit of a regression, and it's been a tough couple weeks for him. I believe it started when we sent him to Fine Arts Camp, a VBS at a local church. He has enjoyed it in previous years, but this year the music was REALLY loud and it was very overstimulating for him. He had several incidents of running away and hiding. He also had a few altercations with other kids, from what I can piece together with his limited narrative. He is crying over everything (and he isn't a big crier) and over-reacting to the slightest perceived offense. According to him I "hate" him and am treating him "like an old shoe" and am "mean" when I ask him to do the simplest of tasks. I am trying oh so hard to maintain patience and order around here until he levels out again. I have contacted several autism experts to see what is in order for him, so we will see if I hear from them today with some advice.


Now that he is getting older, the conversations and play are getting more complex, and he's having a harder time fitting in. Taking him to the pool and having him interact with typical kids is heartbreaking. He doesn't understand most of the unspoken rules of kids play, but wants to play so badly....he's like an over-eager puppy constantly breaking the rules of "cool". Mr. B and I had a hard time watching the other kids roll their eyes at each other mockingly.


It feels like we are being swept up in the autism storm once again. I haven't felt this way since he was 2 and first diagnosed. But then, we had lots of professionals surrounding us and telling us how to handle him. Now we don't have so many.....our pediatrician knows nothing about autism....he's past the therapy stage, so we don't have them. But............


I have the God who knit him together in my womb, the God who knows the number of the hairs on his head, the God who has Luke's name on the palm of His hand. He will see us through this storm with all comfort. He is not surprised by any of this. He will give us everything we need to care for Luke. Of this, I am most confident. And it is with Him I sit this morning, waiting for my broken boy to awake. I gather up my strength from His presence. I soak in the love of my God so that I can cover my boy in it like a blanket. I hear the boys footsteps on the stairs. And so the day begins.

2 comments:

RueRue said...

Hang in there, Lesli! You and Brendan are amazing parents- all that Luke needs. Remember that wisdom you shared and you can get through it! Did you know that I never realized Luke was autistic until you pointed it out to me? Even in the "most autistic" moment I've ever seen him in him I would still not have picked up on it had I not known. That's just a testament to the great job you're doing with him!

Josh said...

Awake with insomnia...praying that the Lord's grace and peace will wash over you and for Luke to stabilize in the coming days. Love and miss you guys.