Not every day can be perfect

Every child can have a bad day.  Every Autistic child is still just a child, so bad days happen.  In the case of a kid that can’t express themselves in other ways but screaming and throwing things a bad day can be worse than it would be with a non-spectrum child at the same age, but in the end a bad day is a bad day and as a parent you just have to accept it and deal with it appropriately.

but a bad day in a room full of children with various challenges is a different issue altogether.  In that situation just one child having a bad day can affect others in far more tangible ways than it would in a room full of otherwise “normal” (I hate that term, btw…  Normal is a perception, not a reality), kids.  today was one of those days.

Oh, it wasn’t Lil’B. that was having the bad day.  At least it wasn’t today, though I’m sure that will happen.  It was one of his classmates. The packet today contained the following note:

He got bit on the hand (Insert frown-face emoticon here) It was about sharing a toy. We re working hard on trying to get him to say “No” when a student gets in his space. He fell when he got off the bus and scraped up his forehead. (insert another frown-face emoticon here)

Some kids bite.  I get that.  I’m not angry about it.  Most of the kids in my son’s class are also very young.  All are challenged in some way. These things happen.

There aren’t any marks from the bite and only a tiny scrape on his head from his stumble. He’s fine.  In-fact, he’s currently laughing his head off on the living room floor while busily playing with the dog. No worries.

The issue as I see it is that my son is far too giving in some situations.  He doesn’t understand personal boundaries, even his own.  for hi they don’t exist.  If they did he might not have been bitten at all, because he would have understood that the other child was getting too close, or that there was a possibility of conflict.  Lil’ B. doesn’t understand any of these concepts yet, but he will some day.

For now I’m glad that he’s learning, and that most days are closer to perfect than not. As long as that trend continues, I’ll be content.

Peace. I’m out