The YeahButs are Coming!... The YeahButs are Coming! Anxiety Optional!!

YeahBut, what if I have a hard day?  YeahBut, I can never get enough points today to get my french fries?  YeahBut, what if I grow wings, a horn and poop purple glitter?????????  James' days are full of anxiety.  Some of it I can understand and some of it I have a harder time with.  He worries about everything and I spend a lot of my day with him trying to talk him off the ceiling.  At some point in the process, I generally tell him that we will no longer talk about it and hope that he is able to pull himself together.  Processing can be a forever job for those of us who love someone with Autism.  The anticipation of new experiences are by far the worst for James.

As part of their science unit about Life Cycles and insects, James' class visited a pond.  James, although very excited about this impending new experience, spent the week trying to wreck his chances for going.  Anxiety got the best of him and he had a pretty terrible behavioral week.  He eventually decided that no one would possibly let him go after the kind of week he had and armed with the comfort of that perceived knowledge, he had a nearly perfect day on Thursday.

Surprise, little man, you are going to the pond!
Armed with his backpack filled with extra clothes, water shoes, his lunch and favorite snack he and his daddy joined the happy pond expedition!!  Guess what?  He had a fabulous time!!!!!! He didn't loose daddy, which meant that daddy didn't lose him either.  He went into the water like a champ.  And was beaming when he got home to tell me all about his adventure!  The only thing he didn't like was the long walk part of the day, but the rest of the day he was the personification of unbridled joy, happy to be with his friends on the trip.  Not a YeahBut in sight!!! Well that is until the next YeahBut invasion!!!