Snug as a bug in a rug!

I've recently learned that a common technique for calming autistic children down is to wrap them all up "like a burrito" in a blanket.  They enjoy it and it apparently helps them to calm down from sensory overload, from what I've read.  Seeing as I'm not a Dr. and we're just learning all these new things, I'm sure there's a broader explanation for the wrapping technique than that.  However, I'm just blown away by the fact that Eli has already incorporated this technique, naturally, and on his own!

Every weekday morning the routine is the same.  Eli gets up, he sits in Daddy's chair until breakfast is on the table.  He moves to the table, eats, takes his morning meds in whatever order he's designed for himself, and after clearing his breakfast dishes, he then moves to Mommy & Daddy's bed until 6:20 a.m. 

It is here, in our bed each morning, where he has already perfected the "burrito" technique all on his own!  He comes in and burrows down under the covers, often asking for help to make sure all the covers are up  completely over his head.  He's wrapped also in his own soft fleece "snuggie"-type blanket, all coccooned and snug as a bug in a rug! 

What a clever coping strategy he figured out all by himself!  What more appropriate time of day as well, for when would it be the most difficult for him?  He's coming out of sleep, out of a dark, quiet room into the  bright main part of the house, where there is light and music is playing.  It never occurred to me this may be a shock to his system or more than he can handle.  It's not super bright, or super loud, but it's a change for him at that moment.  His meds aren't in his system at that point, because he's just taken them with breakfast, so first thing in the morning is just a raw time for him I suspect. 

I plan to utilize the wrapping technique in the future for times when Eli begins to show signs a meltdown.  I'm just now learning this could be due to sensory overload, as I mentioned before.  The trigger for the meltdown may not even be happening at the moment...it might be the after effects of something that happened hours ago!  These are the things we, as parents, need to know and need to understand in order to help him. All the information is right before us....we just need to know how to interpret and understand it. 

New to the journey - we're learning! 2/29/12

Since receiving a solid diagnosis for our nine year old son, Eli, in October 2011 of PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified, an Austism Spectrum Disorder) -- on top of his previous diagnoses of ADHD, Severe Anxiety, and Tourette Syndrome, I have been flailing around trying to figure out the ultimate question.... What EXACTLY am I supposed to be doing???

There's an ocean of information out there to access...but in order to find what actually applies to your child, you need some guidance.  We are at least an hour and forty-five minutes away from the the Behavioral Clinic, Autism Center in Westerville Ohio (Columbus) where Eli received his eventual diagnosis last fall.  They have amazing resources, but after traveling back and forth to the Center and Children's Hospital all last summer during the evaluations, we knew we could not afford to continue the trek.  There just isn't enough money or sick/vacation time available to utilize their facility.  I sincerely wish we could!

We, of course, made immediate arrangements with the school and we have been extremely blessed with outstanding teachers for Eli's 4th grade year, as well as a Principal and School counselors, psychologists, etc. who are willing to go above and beyond to help Eli succeed.  His most difficult challenges in the classroom were identified and his 504 Plan was developed around that.  It is such a blessing to have a willing team to work with!!!  I cannot thank them enough! 

I also began to search locally, make contact with our local chapter of the Autism Society, talked to a few local contacts.... but I wasn't really feeling informed and connected at all.  It's been entirely overwhelming, and I really didn't know where to turn.

I remember once equating it with being on a rocking ship, while you're going through all the evaluations.  When the diagnosis comes, they say, "Yep, your son has PDD-NOS! Don't worry, there are a lot of resources out there!  Hope you can swim!" and then you're knocked over the side of the ship into this vast sea of information.  "Good Luck!  Let us know if you need anything!!" the professionals all yell from the ship as they wave and drift away.  And then you're floating, searching for something, anything that applies to you and your child and your family.  Sure, there's information everywhere!  As vast as every drop of water that makes up the ocean your floating in, but ... how does it help OUR FAMILY specifically?

After about 4 months, I stumbled across a man's blog on the internet about the daily challenges his family works through with their Austistic 13 year old son.  I read and read and read...I couldn't stop!  I then found another family's blog about their 8 year old son, and I began to recognize some major similarites between their child and our Eli!  I got so caught up reading their blog the other morning, I nearly made myself late for work!

For the first time in a long, long while, I am finding comfort and hope!  I never tire of the encouragement I feel reading the accounts of their daily lives working with their children, exploring & learning from each new challenge they face as a family, learning to recognize triggers, and techniques to combat sensory overload and help their precious guy thru the tough stuff when their little mind go haywire from their day.  Everything THEY go through enlightens, encourages, and educates ME! 

I've already learned a few things that I'll be trying with Eli, and I was astonished to read about one technique that is routinely used with autistic children that Eli himself has already developed as a coping strategy and incorporated it into his daily morning routine, and none of us even realized it!  What a clever boy he is!

In turn, here I am creating my own blog.  Maybe it will help someone else at the beginning of their journey.  Maybe no one else will ever read it, and it will just be my outlet, my documentation of E's progress... because it's really easy to forget just how far he's already come!

So here is our journey through Eli's World ...

(Note: I have linked some of you who I thought may be interested in following this blog for either information, interest, love of Eli, or what have you.  If you do not wish to receive emailed blogposts, please do not hesitate to let me know and I will remove your email.  And I won't be offended at all, I promise!)