Welcome back buddy!

This guy has had an ear infection for the past week. Actually, he's probably had it for much longer than that, but Friday was the first day he said his ear hurt. He has an incredibly high pain tolerance, and his issues with body awareness mean that he's often not able to tell us where something hurts. So, when he says something hurts, we know there's a pretty big problem, and we always take him to a doctor. Figuring out a medical issue always sheds a lot of light on what's been going on in the week(s) leading up to the time that he's able to tell us about pain.

It's really hard for me when he's sick. In some ways, we lose him. We lose time, and progress. We lose some of the emotional connections we've been working so hard to strengthen. In lots of ways, it's like the AS takes over when he's sick, and we're left with a little boy who can't regulate his emotions or behavior, and who's struggling just to get by. During these times, I am so thankful for the boy that we usually have in our family, but it also makes me really sad... sad to know that there are things that can throw him for such a big loop, sad that his emotions are so out of control and it's so hard to comfort him in this state, and sad that we're not connecting in the same way that we usually do.

The good news is that the medication seems to be doing its job, and he's slowly returning to us.... with more stable moods, more good natured, calmer behavior, and less discomfort.