Worst place to have a meltdown?

In a crowded hotel elevator. Yeah, that was pleasant. Best person to have with you while your child is having an autistic meltdown in a crowded elevator? Your cousin who is a developmental pediatrician who deals with autistic kids.

Getting off the elevator was the best feeling in the world (for both me and Superman). But getting back to the hotel room to hear your cousin say you're an amazing mother is even better.

Gram's party was awesome. She said I made her dreams come true. She looked like a queen surrounded by all of the people who love her and she left tired, but so happy.

The kids are finally in bed. Superman held it together for a very long, very overstimulating 4 hours and now he's fast asleep after saying his head hurts from everything today. He then reminded me birthday cake would make him feel better. I said no. ;) So he went to bed.

New changes are on the horizon

So much has happened in the past month. It's been hard to keep on top of at home let alone make time to write about it here.

A quick update on the meds - We started him off on 12.5 mg for the first two weeks. Sometimes when people start this type of med they have side effects of aggitation and a low dosage would give his brain a chance to adapt to the hormonal changes and possibly avoid that side effect.

Two weeks after that we went to the full dose of 25 mg. For a week we had a lot of aggitation. Hand flapping, rocking, slamming his head into walls. He couldn't make much eye contact. Simple things would set off a meltdown. That was a really painful time for me. There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your child stuck in his own world in a place in his head that you can't reach. I don't know how many times I cried myself to sleep.

That passed after a week and then he was emotional. He cried a lot. But his eye contact was better and I could talk to him more easily.

Finally now, a month later we are in a good place. He says he feels like his brain has slowed down so he can think more clearly. We can take him to a restaurant and he can sit through an entire meal without curling up in a ball because the sounds/smells/textures around him are causing physical pain.

So in the first week of April we go back to Dr. HD to re-evaluate and see how things are progressing. I don't think we're where we need to be yet, but we're getting there.

The sad news is that Superman's teacher, Mr. S has told me he's not returning to school next year. His wife got accepted to grad school on the west coast which is really great for them.

I'm struggling with the news because Mr. S is a teacher like no other. We've had a hellish two years in the school system until Superman was enrolled in the Aspergers program at this school. Mr. S was a breath of fresh air. He was knowledgable, funny, and so respectful of his kids. He knows the world can be a painful and scary place for them and he does whatever he can to help it make sense to them. It's a really tough job, but he does it so well.

So we'll be starting over with yet another teacher. I've been stressing over it all week but I know I just need to let it go. We'll deal with it in September when it's time.

I just wish that Superman could have some time to really get back on his feet and be settled before being thrown in one new situation after another.

He just started his extended school hours. So instead of attending from 1-3:30pm he goes from 11:30am-3:30pm. It's hard for him, but he's trying.

Ladybug is having a tough time adjusting to him being gone. Her sun rises and sets on her big brother.