Autism Therapy: drum therapy

            We have been floored by Thomas’ behavior yet again!  And again, we’ve been floored in a good way.  Thomas has (drum roll and trumpet fanfare, please) started sleeping in his bed all night without getting into our bed at all! 

Last Wednesday, I was up on a ladder painting our hallway and Thomas was eating lunch.  Completely out of the blue, he said, “I don’t want to sleep in your bed anymore.  I don’t want you to come and get me.”  I said, “I don’t come and get you, Thomas!  You come to my bed all by yourself!  I’ve seen you do it.”  So he said, “Well, I don’t need to do that anymore.”  Of course, I let him know that I was all for that and I thought him staying in his bed at night was a swell idea.  We talked about it for a few more minutes and then that night, right as Thomas was dropping off to sleep, I asked him again if he was going to stay in his bed all night.  He nodded and I didn’t hear from him again until 7:00 the next morning!  Jonathan and I couldn’t believe it.  We had talked about how Thomas said that he wouldn’t be joining us that night, but we were always of the belief that Thomas was practically sleepwalking into our room and wouldn’t be aware enough if he woke up to stop himself from wandering in.  We were wrong – hooray!  I couldn’t believe it, but it seems that Thomas was able to stay in there all night long out of sheer willpower.  And I think we figured out where that willpower was coming from – the threat of another test.

            Up at the cottage this weekend, we were sitting around the breakfast table on Sunday talking about the sleep study and whether we should still go through with it since Thomas is no longer getting into bed with us at night.  Jonathan and I were kicking around the idea of canceling it when Thomas picked up on the conversation and said, “No!  I don’t have to do the sleep study!  I stay in my bed all night now!”  Everyone stopped talking and stared at the boy.  Could he possibly have put the puzzle together?  Did he really figure out that all of these hospital tests are directly related to his nocturnal game of musical beds?  It’s either that or just a fantastic coincidence that he chose now to begin sleeping in his bed.  Really, we don’t care why or how, the point is that he’s sleeping in his bed all night, so that’s one problem solved.  I wonder if that was the neurologist’s plan all along – put the kid through some difficult tests and he’ll figure it out eventually.  Anyway, we decided to hold off on the sleep study for now.  Thomas was very pleased to hear that.

            Thomas started with the new class on Monday and he’s doing just fine.  His new symbol is the blue elephant – the old one was a blue octopus – and he’s okay with that too.  Tomorrow he goes on a field trip to the pumpkin patch – his first real field trip!  I’m probably more excited about it than Thomas is.  When his new teacher called last week to introduce herself, she told me about the trip and I was initially apprehensive.  We generally avoid any crowded public places with Thomas, mainly because we’re afraid of losing him.  I mentioned this to the new teacher but she seemed like the whole thing was going to be no problem.  Maybe it isn’t.  We should probably re-arrange our thinking about what we can do and what we can’t do with Thomas.  He has been doing so well lately that there may be more we can do as a family.  Luckily too, Thomas is uncomfortable now when I pretend that I’m leaving without him – the classic parental trick.  If he gets too far from us, he gets upset and runs toward us which is the desired reaction; the one we would expect from a neurologically typical child.  He was usually the one leaving us while we chased him.

            So much has changed about Thomas recently that we’re not sure what to do or expect much of the time.  It’s exciting but confusing.  Of course we’re not complaining, but how is it that an autistic child is suddenly seeking social interaction to the point where he abandons favorite activities to spend time playing with other children?  His language is exploding – all of the “why?” questions he asks would exhaust any parent.  Even his sensory needs seem to be lessening.

            Jonathan and I have discussed the whole thing and we seem to agree that we have early intervention to thank for all of Thomas’ progress.  I’ve often asked myself “what ifs” like, “What if we hadn’t called Early Intervention and gotten him speech therapy?  Would he be talking now?”  Of course, the “what ifs” don’t do us any good (same as the “what if I hadn’t gotten the flu shot when I was eight months pregnant?” or “what if I ate too much tuna when I was pregnant with Thomas?”) and I shouldn’t bother trying to answer hypothetical questions like that.

            Thomas and Hayley have been driving me crazy, though.  I sing a little song while they’re getting into it; it’s the same tune as the “Itchy and Scratchy” theme song on The Simpsons:  “They fight – and fight!  And fight and fight and fight!  Fight, fight, fight; fight, fight, fight!  The Thomas and Hayley Show!”  I just typed the word “fight” so many times that it lost its meaning.  I wish it had no meaning to the children.  Thomas loves to make Hayley lose her temper and when she does, Hayley bites her wrist (weird, I know) and starts whacking Thomas with a closed fist on his back.  Unfortunately for Hayley, Thomas thinks this is hilarious and the hitting doesn’t bother him at all.  On the contrary, I think he likes it.  His giggling, even though Hayley is beating him with all her might, just incenses Hayley more.  I usually end up putting Hayley in her room, but I can’t really make Thomas stay in his because I took his door off the hinges a long time ago due to his door slamming phase.  I shall replace it soon, I think.

            Halloween is coming up and since we’ve all been sick in the past week, I’m hoping that we’ll all be well for the upcoming candy fest.  Last year, the kids were sick with the stomach flu on Halloween so there was no trick-or-treating.  Thomas is going to be a racecar driver this year and he really likes the spandex-y softness of his jumpsuit.  When Jonathan brought it home, Thomas insisted on wearing it all day.  I think I mentioned that in a recent blog.  Hayley has decided to be Snow White.  We’re going to trick-or-treat with Jonathan’s brother’s wife and their daughter in their neighborhood.  I’m really looking forward to the Halloween parade at Thomas’ preschool because we didn’t get to go last year, but also because I can meet his new teacher and see his classroom.  Hayley will dress up too, but I don’t think I will.  My Cleopatra costume is a little too sexy for preschoolers.  Jonathan and I have a costume party coming up on Saturday night and we’re going as Antony and Cleopatra.  Jonathan gets to wear a skirt too (well, it’s actually a tunic, but he keeps calling it a skirt).