Happy Halloween

I was a little worried about today.

J-man woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  Grumpy and tired, his favorite word was "no".  He took it to the extreme this morning, refusing to go potty.  Until 11am.  Yes, you read that right. He "held his water" from 8pm the night before until 11am.  Now, that's a super bladder and a stubborn streak!!!  The rest of the morning and early afternoon seemed to follow this course:  "No" to anything/everything I said.  Period.  But he seemed to get over it by evening and trick-r-treating went awesome. He loved his costume, he loved all the other costumes.  He loved the door knocking, the saying "trick or treat", and getting the candy.  And he doesn't even LIKE candy.

 Halloween is truly J-man's holiday. 

Epic Fail

Okay, maybe not EPIC, but I have been a bad blogger.  I haven't posted since October 13th!!!  And you will have to wait a bit longer.  The truth is I am wiped after work and J-man. By the time I have the time, I have no words.  I also need the pillow.  Sweet, sweet pillow.

I will make it up to you, I promise.  In the meantime, a picture of J-man with some pumpkins.  Enjoy!

How to Know When Your Autistic Kid Is Potty-trained

We walk into the house after an obscenely long commute home from therapy.  J-man carries his chicken nugget bag in like it is gold.  He is ready to eat, now!  I run to the kitchen to fetch a plate and ketchup as J-man sashays up to the table with his Golden Arches prize.  I do this strange, exotic, weaving dance as I quickly deposit plate and ketchup on the table and hoist his rear into his chair.

I have to pee.  Bad.

As I sprint to the bathroom, J-man screeches at the upper range of his vocal cords, "'Lion King!!!". 

(In the spirit of full disclosure, I must confess that The Lion King is the new favorite and has been dinnertime viewing for the last week.  Yup, Mother of the Year.  Chicken nuggets and TV, the American way)

Lucky for my bladder, Lion King is already in the DVD player and ready to go.  One push of a button and we are off to the races!   And boy, did I race! 

Just as I get "settled in", I hear the thud of little feet heading toward me.  Crap, J-man is coming to pee too!!  Will I get booted... midway, so to speak...  or will he be willing to use the potty chair?  I offer a silent prayer to the Goddess of Kegel Muscles as he comes barreling in.   My prayers were heard....  he chose the potty chair. 

Just as his bum hits the plastic, however, the beginning strands of the Lion King flow into the bathroom.  J-man's eyes go big and round. He jumps up and "runs"...  underwear around his ankles.... to the living room.  I quickly follow (fully clothed) and tell him "No worries... I will pause it.  Go potty, honey!". 

"No potty!!"  he says.

"Yes, go potty!  You just went in there to go!  It's ok."  I say.

"NO POTTY!!  LION KING!", he shouts as he pulls up his pants. 

"Okay, okay," I concede, silently consoling myself that maybe he didn't have to go that bad.

J-man settles on the sofa, chicken nuggets forgotten.  Feeling much more relaxed, I wander to the kitchen to rustle up something to eat myself.  Big Daddy comes in and we chit-chat for a bit, and then we wander back to the living room. 

And there is J-man, at the DVD player, trying to stop the movie with one hand while pulling down is pants with the other.  He has a combined look of determination and panic as it becomes clear to me that he is trying take the DVD out.  It is also abundantly clear to me that yes... indeed... he does have to go to the bathroom.  NOW.

As Big Daddy and I laugh at this half-exposed bum, J-man pulls the disk out of the DVD player and races (pants halfway down) to the bathroom.....

... and makes it!!!

(Might I proudly add that it was #2, too.)

And that is how you know when your autistic kid is truly potty-trained!

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Once again I am thrilled to be highlighted by the folks over at Best of the Best!  Check out this months very very funny blog posts!

The Season of Change

Just a little update...

J-man and Big Daddy

With change comes more change. 

J-man is changing so fast and furious that it is hard to keep up or take stock of the changes in any sort of cohesive way.  He is talking.  Not consistently, but often enough and with enough real communicative intent that I can say he is talking.  He is using sentences.  Mostly 2-3 word, but every once in a while a longer, complicated one comes out and I spend several very long seconds trying to decode what he tried to say. 

I usually fail.


Good-bye diapers?



J-man is officially 99.9% potty trained.  He goes on his own, doesn't need (or want) prompting.  He has had several meltdowns at his program because they were working on potty training from a toileting schedule perspective (go at regular intervals...  like every hour... and reinforce attempts).  One day last week, J-man just decided he would have none of that.  He starts a round of temper tantrums when they would try and make him go.  Over the weekend I just decided that hey... it's his body... he should get to decide when he goes to the bathroom.  So I would ask "have to go potty??" and leave it up to him. 



Only one accident.  At Target of course. And number 2.  Awesome.

I promptly informed his program to back off on the whole 'forced potty' thing.  He gets it.  It is his body, and he gets it.  They have, and so far no accidents this week.  He still wears a diaper at night, but only because I am too chicken-sh*t to risk it.  He stays dry, but I cannot handle the pressure. 

Nonetheless, I think this might be the last pack of diapers I will have to buy.  Ever.

(yes, I know I have just jinxed myself)

Yet with all these great changes... and they are uber-great...  come the meltdowns.  Think nuclear.  Chernobyl-like.  Over such important things like "who gets to carry his backpack" and "who gets to pour the juice".  I am going to make the huge assumption that the reappearance of Melt Down Man is rooted in all these new changes, as he learns to adapt to the New Skills. 

Cool beans.  I will just put on my helmet and hide under my desk.  Duck and cover, my friends.  Duck and cover!

Stickers

Dear Mommy,

Just buy me a @#&% sticker book already.

Love & kisses,

J-man