Brando's World Of Schedules
Brandon, like many kids like him, do not like to vary there schedules. Things should be the same and done at expected times and places. This has been apparent with the current problems at school and also with this morning. You see, I wanted to let him sleep a little extra before church. Turns out I should have just woke him up. Let me explain. Pop Tarts are SUPPOSED to be eaten at the counter. Because I let him oversleep, I needed him to eat it in the car. But "that's not right" they are only to be eaten at the counter. This rule is only broken by him and only to eat in front of the TV when Mom is not looking. This simple act threw him off for most of the morning. After church we went to Mary's house for lunch and a movie. This was fine until the movie turned out to contradict Brandon's reality. It was an old movie called "Short Circuit". In the movie, the robot comes to life and runs away. Here is the problem. Robots don't come to life. Something about it just didn't sit right with him. In some ways I will be glad when we get back to our regular schedule. As crazy as it is, it is predictable. I do feel that I should try to push the schedule now and again though. Life is not predictable and things happen. As he grows up he will have to get used to this and learn to deal with it.
1 comment:
Anne,
I have been reading your blog over the past few months and I have a few questions and thoughts about Brandon.
Has a diagnosis of "Pervasive Developmental Disorder" ever been used to describe Brandon's disability? Or has anyone ever suggest the term "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (ASD)? I know I am venturing into dangerous territory using these terms because some parents are very defensive about them, but let me explain why I ask.
The reason I ask is that here in Minnesota (especially my school district) they don't shy away from using these terms. As you may know, Autism Spectrum Disorder is not just classical autism, but it is a larger spectrum of developmental disabilities that cover many types of disabilities such as ADHD and dyspraxia as long as the person with the disability has a social communication disorder. (See link.)
Also, according to the NAS, some 75% of children with autism also have at least one other learning difficulty - other ‘conditions’ that frequently go alongside autism are dyspraxia and dyslexia. (See link.)
If Brandon has not been administered a test for ASD, he should. Having a diagnosis of ASD is like a magic word and a whole world of services become available for a child with the ASD diagnosis.
Our son was first diagnosed as Mixed Developmental Delays, but several year's later a medical doctor changed the diagnosis to ASD, then available services blossomed completely. The ASD diagnosis was very upsetting to hear at first, but it has been the greatest thing that ever happened as far as receiving services for our son. The school district stopped arguing over whether or not services were necessary, just how much. Our son qualified for TEFRA insurance (which Pennsylvania also has) and we pay for it even thought we have a primary HMO.
TEFRA has allowed us to get PCA's that help take care of our child so my other children without ASD will not suffer if my son with ASD has a meltdown. It gives us another hand in the house or at outings so everyone is not living their lives around my son's meltdowns and can equally enjoy events. TEFRA also pays for additional therapies and medications that our primary HMO will not pay for.
So I'm sorry if you take offense at my suggestion that Brandon may have ASD. Just from my reading your posts I know that if you were in my city, he would have the ASD diagnosis and he would benefit from more services (you really can't get too much speech therapy or social therapy). Plus not just Brandon would benefit, but you, Jim, and Lauren would also have help so that Brandon's behaviors didn't dictate all family times and outings.
Here are just a few of the behaviors that go along with ASD that you have expressed Brandon has: ADHD, dyspraxia, lack of safety awareness, lack of social awareness, obsession with schedules, etc..
Again, I hope I did not offend. I just feel for you and your struggles with getting services for Brandon. Brandon would benefit from getting as many services as possible and so would your family. If you would like to respond to my directly, you can send an email to me at gravtac@yahoo.com.
Wishing you all the best. And thanks for sharing all the stories about your family with the world at large.
Post a Comment