Caroling with Autism

Noah had the great idea for our family (well, the kids and I) to go Christmas caroling in our neighborhood and hand out plates of cookies.  Sounds great, right?

Actually, it went against every sane bone in my body (admittedly, there may not be many).  This involved knocking on doors of near-strangers and singing at the top of my lungs because I have to if I am asking the kids to.  But the scariest part of all...taking Mr. Unpredictable (a.k.a. Levi) on a walk in the dark to sing on porches of people who don't know us.




We made a few rules before we left:
1.  No touching snow with anything other than the snowboots on our feet.  This was because we knew it was going to be a long walk and touching snow means you get to be wet for the very long walk.
2.  Stay together.  Always.  No exceptions.
3.  Do not go into anyone's house unless Mom says so.

Turns out, my fears were well-founded.  The following is a list of all the crazy things Mr. Unpredictable did on our 2 hour long walk...
1.  Immediately walked through the highest snow he could find.
2.  Bent down and made a zombie snowman (his words) every 5 feet or so.  Again, touching the snow.
3.  Fell off a random neighbor's porch.  This was not accidental.  Yay for porch-side bushes.
4.  Inspected about 20 people's Christmas ornaments, no matter where that meant he had to walk.
5.  Opened the door and let a German Shepherd out, right at face level. :S  Thankfully, we know this particular pup.
6.  Waltzed right into one person's house and took off his boots.  Thankfully, we know this family well. ;)
7.  Sang probably two lines total.

But what he didn't do was more important.  He didn't...
1.  Refuse to walk.
2.  Scream or cry.
3.  Run away.
4.  Say anything inappropriate.  At least where people could hear.

All in all, I'll call it a success.  Considering that when we got home, he was soaking wet from all of his "snow-touching", I'd say he did far better than I would have expected.  We'll do it again next year, I hope. 

Rule #4 will be...only ring the doorbell once.

ADHD musings

Levi has two official diagnoses...ADHD and SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).  We are close to an Asperger's diagnosis for him, but that may take a bit to sort out because he is only 5.  I think it's just a matter of time before that official diagnosis.

But...I find myself questioning the ADHD for the past couple of weeks.  I decided to not give him his meds while we were camping two weekends ago, and he did so well that I haven't given them since.  Is he still a wild man?  Yep.  But what I am seeing makes me think this has more to do with the SPD and his near constant state of sensory overload than it does with ADHD.  I think ADHD is just so common and "understood", that it's an easier diagnosis to give than any version of ASD (autism spectrum disorder).

The biggest change?  Very little crying and whining in the evenings.  This is the second ADHD medication that I was able to link to that in Levi.  No more.  We're done.  I will learn to deal with Levi as Levi needs.  We will work on his diet.  We will pay close attention to his sensory needs and try to head off problems before they begin. 

We will love and train up our child with the understanding that God has created him as an amazing individual.  If he needs to jump 14,389 times a day...that's perfectly okay. :)