Thursday, January 5, 2012

A Bad Day

We'd been having a GREAT week. I have watched Jack change and grow in so many ways lately.  For example, last Friday I took him to Pizza Hut for lunch (since I missed the feeding-him-on-time part of parenting).  He rarely says what he wants to eat, so when he asked for pizza, I said, "Sure! Ok!"  We sat down, the waitress came to take our order and Jack stated, "I want Chocolate Milk.  And breadsticks.  And a big pizza!"  This is the FIRST TIME he has ever ordered something for himself.  I almost cried!  Another great example is from last night.  He was playing with an older kid at church, and they eventually came and sat down by me after service.  Jack had a conversation with this kid (whom we're going to call "Bob," as it's my favorite fake name right now,) and used things we've been doing in therapy.  It's an amazing thing to see that work pay off. This is how the conversation went:
         Bob said, "I'm Bob!"
         Jack pointed to himself and said, "I'm Jack.  I'm five!"  (This is awesome because he is FINALLY admitting his correct age!!  He was just 'telling' a therapist earlier in the week that he was four.)
         Bob said, "I'm in fifth grade."
         Jack said, "Oh yeah.  Fifth grade.  I'm five!  I like trains."

Really, for someone who DOES.NOT.EVER. carry on conversations with people, this was great!!  I know in my heart that Jack enjoys being around people, and that once he has a better grasp of communication he will make many friends.

The Bad Day:  I'm still not sure what set him off, but he had a horrible morning.  I heard him throwing a fit from downstairs but wasn't too worried about it since it's happened before and the therapists know how to handle it.  This time wasn't like those times.  I got a text from the therapist saying, 'Is there anything important on your PC?"  This is our only good PC, mind you.  I asked if she wanted help, and she told me that she couldn't get him to calm down, so yes.  I walked upstairs and felt my stomach sink.  His worktable and chairs had been pushed over, the computer chairs were laying sideways on the floor, and his toys had been thrown all over the room.  Jack was laying on the floor right next to his therapist, just screaming his heart out.  It was an ugly site, one I hope I don't see again anytime soon.  He calmed down within five to ten minutes, and we walked through the room and cleaned everything up.  One problem though; the computer wouldn't start.  Apparently he pushed it over 2-3 times, and had pulled some of the wires out.  We tried to put everything together, and finally got it started but it wouldn't connect with the monitor.  Thankfully, Tony knows his computers well, since he knew right away what was wrong with it.  It is now functioning once again, but needs  a new place to live.
       For me, this is so frustrating.  Jack is NOT a naughty kid.  He is strong-willed, for sure ~ but he would not have gotten away with that in front of his mama!  I've been told by each therapist multiple times that he almost always throws his tantrums during 'play-time.'  He's "eager" to do his work, and he's really good at it.  Unfortunately, he's "very controlling" over play and this is almost always when he erupts.  I don't understand that yet, but I hope that it will become clear soon.  Please pray for us; for grace and understanding.

The rest of the day involved Jack saying, "Mom, you're so cute!"  I think this is his way of saying he likes me. Hugs always accompanied it.  No doubt he was trying to get back on my good side.  At least it was entertaining.

No comments:

Post a Comment