His reactions and behaviors last night had me rushing to check the "Full Moon Chart for 2012" that I keep on hand. Sure enough, we're in the week preceding the full moon for the month of March. It's going to hit on the 8th.
Although Eli's newest medication has been very helpful in helping him through these lunar cycles, I suspect we're in for a doozy of a reaction this time around.
Math homework was too much for his mind last night, so instead of working steadily to get it done, he spent a great deal of time rolling around on the floor complaining about it instead, proclaiming it "boooooring" and "stoooooopid". It took him a while to get it completed since he spent more time writhing in the anguished throes of drama than he spent doing the actual work....but eventually, he slammed his book shut and announced, "I'm getting on the computer now!" in as loud a voice as he could muster.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Short-tempered, sarcastic and relentless in the verbal zings he was casting toward his brother, I sought out the lunar chart. Yep. We may be in for it. The fact that he yelled at his dad every time Ben began to rock in his recliner, producing a small squeak that most people would be able to block out and ignore, told me that for Eli, it was pure torture. "Daaaaad! Geeez! Stop it!!!! Quit it!" echoed throughout the living room every time Daddy would absent-mindedly begin to move again.
He refused "burrito" wrapping, but spent a great deal of time yelling out "Bubble! Ze bubbles! Buh-buh-buh-bubbly-bubbles" in a baby-talk voice, as if that was comforting to him. He continued the tendency this morning as well, until I indicated I'd heard quite enough of it. He can't explain to me why he's latched on to this word recently, or what his motivation is for repeating it incessantly. If I had to guess, I would say it's the sensation it creates...the feeling it gives his mouth, when he says it.
Textures, noises, the way things feel to him, his levels of impulsiveness, agitation, and energy,... his emotions, his impatience, mood swings.... all of these things are heightened for him right now. Some agitate...some comfort. I can't understand how or why, but when I commented a few years ago to a dear friend that I didn't understand why Eli seemed like any typical kid one week, and then the next week he was so different, she asked me if we had ever tracked the cycles of the moon and compared it to his behavior. We hadn't but began to do so immediately. See, our dear friend had spent her entire career teaching with developmentally differently-abled children and she knew up close and personal how much the lunar cycles would "mess with" the kids. She also knew how it randomly it affected each child, causing different reactions.
We began to pay attention and it was actually fascinating to watch the patterns emerge. New Moon brought increased emotional responses. Full moon brought that along with increased activity and loss of focus and control.
Do typically-developing children go through such drastic changes as well?? I have to wonder? I know Ash has been less patient with Eli the past few days than he normally is, but that could be due to the insults with which Eli's been pummeling him.
How does that old moon make such an impact on one little boy? I can't explain the how or the why. All I know is that when Eli's agitation begins to present itself, I check the chart and we all nod at each other and say, "Oooooh....Full Moon's comin'..." and that explains everything!
No comments:
Post a Comment