Very anxious days

This past weekend Liam’s anxiety has been high for some reason, as well as his fits. They have been so frequent every day that really drained you. On top of his fits, Aidan and Brendan have been a couple of hellions themselves. Take all this together and it made for some very long days. Liam’s anxiety was especially bad when Seamus was not around. Liam would repeatedly ask where Seamus was at or what was he doing. When he would see Seamus leave he would want to go. Liam still cannot be outside alone. Jill caught him the other day following Seamus down the street. As she tried to catch up to him he just dashed across the street without looking. Liam’s fits would be last up to a half hour when he was not permitted to go.

On July 4th we took the boys to see Berea’s fireworks show. We wondered how Liam would act with the loud explosions, crowd, and other noise around him. Liam did very well and had a great time watching the fireworks. He would get very excited and run up to Jill and I tell us what he saw. A year ago in this type of social setting Liam would not have done well. He has definitely progressed well in this area.

We went with our friends and neighbors to see the fireworks too. The kids all enjoyed the show. The only thing that made it tough was the time spent waiting for the show to begin. The kids could barely sit still. The funniest thing (funny now) was Aidan and the other kids amusing themselves rolling down a small hill and laughing hysterically. Aidan got back up after a roll and just projectile vomited the chips, juice, and popcorn he had just finished! He already had his pajamas on and had no change of clothes. He ended up just in his diaper the rest of the evening.

Today at school Liam had another very good day. His teacher Miss Bonnie has been dealing with autistic children for many years. She has really picked up on Liam’s quirks and has made great adjustments to help him. She too has noticed Liam’s anxiety flare up and has been able to redirect him before it gets bad. Miss Bonnie also noticed slight tremoring in his hands. This is something Jill noticed last year. We have not seen it as much lately. Jill has noticed Liam has quickly adapted to his school environment. She thinks the big difference is the teachers at Middleburg are trained for children with special needs such as autism. Jill stated Liam’s teacher at Olmsted Falls was interested in observing at Middleburg. She will contact her and let her know what the schedule is. Jill and I are encouraged by her interest. Jill and I are very happy to see Liam doing well at Middleburg. We really hope that this well help prepare him for a successful school year this fall.