13 Comments

  1. I know this is an old post and I am not sure how I got here but I am struck by two things reading this. Okay more than two. First: how awesome of a mom you are to really know your son and help him in this way! Two: we carried noise cancelling ear muffs everywhere we went for several years when my oldest was younger because she was also terrified in public restrooms and didn’t like loud noises in general (parades, crowded places, fireworks, etc.). She is 9 now and just last year let out an involuntary shriek in the Costco restroom when the EXTREMELY LOUD dyson hand dryer suddenly came on when she was using the bathroom. Thankfully it doesn’t happen much anymore. Three: my 3rd child used to wander and IT WAS TERRIFYING. We woke up in the middle of the night one night when he was about 3 to the sound of him trying to get out the front door. Several other episodes (by the light of day though) were also as scary. It is such a horrible feeling and my heart just lurched reading this. I still have to keep close tabs on him, more than any of my other kids. He is also the one in our little bunch that is voted most likely to be an actual (possibly evil) genius. Thank you for sharing this and allowing us to get to know your wonderful Emmett. I might just have to go back and binge read your whole blog in the near future.

  2. Carolyn, I am so moved by your words. The way you’re learning to help him, help your family, and do the best for those boys is beautiful. The way the other boys are helping Emmet and learning to love him with Autism, it’s tear-jerking. Thank you for sharing what it is like for your family, because without people like you and Krystin sharing this, the rest of us just can’t and don’t know. Now I can be more understanding, and hopefully when I have an IRL friend near me with similar struggles, I can be a better friend to their family. Love to you.

  3. This is so great and so, so helpful to families who love someone on the spectrum. Thanks for the compassionate, realistic and nitty gritty glimpse into your day to day.

  4. I stumbled on your blog a few weeks ago. You’ve definitely changed my attitude when it comes to seeing “unruly” kids in public. Having an (almost) two year old has humbled me in a lot of ways but this pushes me to new areas of more empathy and less judging. This post is beautiful and I’m sure will help some mom who is struggling with the same thing. I’m sure you’ve done your research into resources for E, but I wanted to mention music therapy since you said music helps him. My sister is a music therapists and works with special needs (physical and mental) children. Music therapy could be a great resource for you.
    God bless and you’ll be in my prayers.

  5. This is beautiful. I wish more people read posts like this. I was watching the news the other day and a little boy had gotten out of the house and they were interviewing neighbors. They were all so shocked and horrified that the little 2 year old had gotten out. “Why aren’t the parents watching him?” and “What kind of parent lets their kid out of their sight like that” I could only think about how easy it is for a kid to escape and run down the street. How it only takes a few seconds.

      1. Love your posts, really well written. My heart goes out to you – and I wish I’d documented our journey. So many similar concerns – we installed an alarm system in our house with a chime when doors open. Sounds extreme but sometimes you just really need to take a shower and not worry! My daughter is 12 now and she has come a long way, we still have transition issues, routines that get broken but her meltdowns now seem to be more from stress or basics like sleep and hunger. Also big earphones/ noise canceling and as she got older she can self manage a lot more with music. Loud areas- lots of people are very hard, hugs to you and yours, D

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