He has also slapped his mother at least 25 times. Caught me about 6 or 7 times as well. His room is filled with holes from all of the objects that he's thrown when he goes into this crazed rage that no one sees coming. And his poor older brother, who rarely ever hits him back, has had his glasses broken from all the times his brother has attacked him in the back seat, with very little to defend himself.
A lot of people have kids like Noah, and they can sympathize with how difficult it is to live with someone like this...especially if you'd take a bullet for them.
He took my laptop computer (retail about $1100) and tossed it across the floor once, denting one of its USB ports. I believe my reaction (paraphrasing the best I can, as this was about a year and change ago) was as follows:
"If you want him alive, get him away from me NOW!"
That is what I said to his mother as I watched my precious laptop bounce on the ground...twice.
Never saw his mother grab him up and move or so fast. And this girl is quick on her feet when she wants to be.
The last 2 years or so have been quite rough in my household. Just like I'm sure it's been rough in other households for kids like my boy.
We have to lock him in his room as well, because he has been known to leave the house. That fast girl I spoke about dashed after him more than once too. He has an ankle tracker on him, in case he decides to take a 2nd tour like he did at a neighborhood bbq last summer.
The boy is Autistastic, I tell ya.
Some folks blame the Autism part on vaccines. A friend of mine blames his diet, and suggests flipping the script on him and changing it.
Shit...this kid clears the table when he gets the food he wants. Imagine how much fun it would be if I told him "hey buddy, look, we are going to try this funky root that I can't pronounce instead of your Pop Tarts...you're ok with that, right?"
The funny thing is, I'd b willing to try switching his diet if I knew it would help....but sadly, it's cheaper to give him the stuff that might be short circuiting him than the other kind of food.
Wait...I know what you're thinking...you can buy an expensive computer, but you can't get food for your kid?
That expensive computer...and a lot of things like it, are now in countries like Russia, Germany, and some small town in Oklahoma.
Hocked it to keep the lights on, fix a car, and so forth.
Ebay is a wonderful thing.
In previous blogs, I talked about my books, why I write, and why I have such an odd view of things.
I like to call myself the negative optimist.
I am not as gloom and doom as I used to be...in a lot of ways, I have a fairly decent life.
But the real poverty of my existence becomes real when I look at my boy. His grandmother got him an iPad last year, and he loves the thing.
But when the battery dies...he becomes Autistastic.
Actually, it has happened beforehand...like when he bounces it off of his brother's head.
When I wrote my kid's book and released it a few weeks ago, I had grand dreams that this will be the one...my time is now. Not for fancy new things if it sold well. But to use the money from the book to find out how to get my Autistastic boy to sleep longer than 5 hours a night. To bring someone to my home so he can learn that tossing knives at restaurants isn't a good idea.
Just to be able to help him, including feeding him that unpronounceable food that my friend says may help him. At least if he doesn't like it, I can afford to lose the investment.
I will say this.
My son's Down Syndrome makes him who he is. The DS part makes him this warm, loving, non-judging, no race-seeing smiling ball of energy that gives me kisses when I come home from work, hugs when I am down, and all around perfect smile that just draws people to him sort of little guy.
The Autism part?
I don't mind the living in his own world part most days.
But the wars that come with it I can do without.
That a little too "Autistastic" for my liking. But he still is mine, "Autistastic" and all.
No comments:
Post a Comment