October, 2011 Down Syndrome Awareness... Day 27

Rough week...

This is one of 'those' posts... because it's been one of 'those' weeks.

We all have rough days here and there right? Well, in true Josh, never do anything normal but instead do everything with gusto style... he doesn't just have a rough day, he has rough weeks.

This was one of them.

You know it can't be good when the teacher is waiting for you when you walk thru the door at pick-up time. So it goes... we ask the usual questions...

Is someone picking on him?
Is someone (or something) stressing him out?
Is he trying to tell us something?
Is he hungry?
Is he not feeling well or coming down with something?
Is he tired?
Does he need more breaks during the day?
Is he bored?
Is he getting too MUCH help lovin' it too MUCH?
Is he getting too MUCH help and hatin' it because he wants independence?
Is something too hard?
Is he cold?
Is he hot?

And he can't tell us... **sigh**

He's been shutting down at school. As in... not moving. Not talking. Not smiling. Not crying. Not doing as asked.

And twisting... he has this really annoying habit of twisting his shirt. Is it a sensory related issue? Is it a behavioral issue? Is it just a really annoying habit? He used to bite his nails... got him thru that. He used to pull little strings out of his socks with his nails... got him thru that. He used to bite on his shirt... got him thru that.

He used to grind his teeth... got him thru that (unless he's overtired or sick). So I have to believe the twisting is going to stop someday too... right? We choose to ignore it...

Everything in me very much dislikes annoying bad behavior. I know it's the 'in thing'... to ignore, redirect, etc. But it's never been who I am as a mom. If it's bad, it does not get ignored. It gets corrected and disciplined... but what happens when you have a kid that doesn't respond to discipline? Well... meet Josh. No amount or type of discipline has ever worked with him. Now that's not to say that we don't keep trying...

I'm rambling... ***sigh***

This too shall pass (probably by tomorrow as that's usually the case with Josh... we stress and fret and over-think... then it's over). If anyone has any ideas on how to get thru to him, feel free throw it out there.

This picture is appropriate for today... for this week... as I'm sure that's what he's wishin' he could do to me right about now.