The past few months we've been working with Seth on helping him to learn his emotions and how to react to them. He has extreme anxiety and mix that with his autism getting over stimulated can cause the biggest of melt downs.
Today we took a family trip to Hogle Zoo. In the past Seth wouldn't respond well to the 3 hour road trip and the large crowds when getting to the destination. He knew his younger siblings would be loud in the vehicle and the stress of finding a parking spot would push him over the edge before we even got into the zoo. My younger sister and her family were traveling down with us and he asked to ride with her since she has one child that is quiet.
When we arrived Seth was calm and responding well to everything. We had prepped him of the days events, what we were going to see and reminded him how to relax if he felt like things were getting too much.
A few minutes in things started building, the train whistle, loud music, and a ton of kids running around. We could see he was close to breaking down. We've learned other triggers like low blood sugar, meds schedule, and a few others. We quickly grabbed some food and gave him a dose of his meds that were due in 20 minutes. He calmed down and we reminded him of the excitement he had expressed over seeing certain animals. He pulled himself together and pushed on. We gave him his space and shared in his joy when he would share his joy. There were a handful of times he was close to the edge and he'd pull himself back. I could see how hard it was for him, but at the same time the relief. The fits are not fun for him either. He doesn't like feeling that way as much as us.
We made it through every animal exhibit and he was done. We left and told him how proud we were. We had to stop and eat. The kids had chose to dine at Chuck'O Rama. Seth was starting to melt down. No aggression yet or screaming. Just pacing, whining, and leaving the building. I could get him back without any issues, thankfully. The restaurant was very busy our wait time for our table would be 10 to 15 minutes. Signs of huge meltdowns were starting to surface. I didn't want to spoil his day and progress. I slipped up to the hostess desk and quietly told them about Seth's disability and if he doesn't get food into his system he might start throwing things. If there was anyway to provide a table soon we'd be ever so grateful. I was very polite and in no way acted like we were entitle to the favor. It was just be very very appreciated. The other patrons waiting ahead of us were watching g and noticed his behavior changing and me chasing him in and out of the building. The gentleman returned in seconds and showed us to our table. I apologized to the people who had been waiting before us but they were all so nice and assured us they were okay with it. We are so grateful, impressed, and thankful for the way the Chuck'O Rama employees handled this situations as well as the other customers ahead of us. Believe me, they have no idea what good they actually did.
Seth took a second to calm down after I showed him the buffet and told him he was able to pick anything and as much as he wanted. He could even eat his dessert first. He smiled so big and ran to the fried chicken, mac and cheese, and fries. He sat for the next 30 minutes while we all ate and never once acted out.
On our way out Seth was happy but definitely ready to go home. I told him how grown up he was for behaving in such a good way. He fist bumped me.
This boy is trying so hard!
Today we took a family trip to Hogle Zoo. In the past Seth wouldn't respond well to the 3 hour road trip and the large crowds when getting to the destination. He knew his younger siblings would be loud in the vehicle and the stress of finding a parking spot would push him over the edge before we even got into the zoo. My younger sister and her family were traveling down with us and he asked to ride with her since she has one child that is quiet.
When we arrived Seth was calm and responding well to everything. We had prepped him of the days events, what we were going to see and reminded him how to relax if he felt like things were getting too much.
A few minutes in things started building, the train whistle, loud music, and a ton of kids running around. We could see he was close to breaking down. We've learned other triggers like low blood sugar, meds schedule, and a few others. We quickly grabbed some food and gave him a dose of his meds that were due in 20 minutes. He calmed down and we reminded him of the excitement he had expressed over seeing certain animals. He pulled himself together and pushed on. We gave him his space and shared in his joy when he would share his joy. There were a handful of times he was close to the edge and he'd pull himself back. I could see how hard it was for him, but at the same time the relief. The fits are not fun for him either. He doesn't like feeling that way as much as us.
We made it through every animal exhibit and he was done. We left and told him how proud we were. We had to stop and eat. The kids had chose to dine at Chuck'O Rama. Seth was starting to melt down. No aggression yet or screaming. Just pacing, whining, and leaving the building. I could get him back without any issues, thankfully. The restaurant was very busy our wait time for our table would be 10 to 15 minutes. Signs of huge meltdowns were starting to surface. I didn't want to spoil his day and progress. I slipped up to the hostess desk and quietly told them about Seth's disability and if he doesn't get food into his system he might start throwing things. If there was anyway to provide a table soon we'd be ever so grateful. I was very polite and in no way acted like we were entitle to the favor. It was just be very very appreciated. The other patrons waiting ahead of us were watching g and noticed his behavior changing and me chasing him in and out of the building. The gentleman returned in seconds and showed us to our table. I apologized to the people who had been waiting before us but they were all so nice and assured us they were okay with it. We are so grateful, impressed, and thankful for the way the Chuck'O Rama employees handled this situations as well as the other customers ahead of us. Believe me, they have no idea what good they actually did.
Seth took a second to calm down after I showed him the buffet and told him he was able to pick anything and as much as he wanted. He could even eat his dessert first. He smiled so big and ran to the fried chicken, mac and cheese, and fries. He sat for the next 30 minutes while we all ate and never once acted out.
On our way out Seth was happy but definitely ready to go home. I told him how grown up he was for behaving in such a good way. He fist bumped me.
This boy is trying so hard!
1 comment:
I'm so glad it all worked out so well and you know him so well.
Susan Andersen
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