My days are anything but typical....the actual words I'd use to describe my days are interesting, comical, unpredictable, heartbreaking, difficult and sometimes unbearable.....but don't get me wrong they can be amazing and enjoyable at times too!
Thats the thing when you have a child with autism.....no matter what their needs are you never know quite what the day will bring you!
For example, this morning I was awoken by mollie (my autistic 11 year old) at 7am with her informing me that she has to have a bath! Now mollies baths aren't a simple process.....everything needs to be done in the same order as it always is! I also have to wash her body and hair and dry her when she gets out, then she has to have her hair blow dried....all in all this process takes around 45 minutes! Which is fine, but normally we do this of an evening! Whereas mollie has informed me that she wants her bath every single morning this week BEFORE her breakfast!!! 😆 🤣
Just one more thing to add to the list when it comes to mollies needs.....and when mollie needs it, she needs it NOW!! 😆
Mollie has a real difficulty with waiting for things.....she doesn't understand time in the slightest.....everything is "in 20 minutes" for her! The morning routine for school is one of mainly bargaining....for me anyway!
Mollie loves her ipad and insists that she has "20 minutes " on it before we leave the house! Even if we literally have to go in 5 minutes or we will be late!! But its not simply achieved.....we then have to go through a verbal ocd agreement until mollie is happy with the out come!! This goes as follows!........
"mollie, 20 minutes on ipad and then its time for school"
"20 minutes on ipad first mum"
"Yes mollie, then school"
"Ipad first mum then school"
"Yes mollie"
"20 minutes then school?"
"Yes mollie"
"Ipad first then go to school mum ok?"
"Yes mollie"
"20 minutes on ipad first mum, ok?"
"Yes mollie"
"20 minutes and then school mum, deal?"
"Yes mollie"
"20 minutes on ipad then school mum, deal??".
" yes mollie, deal"
"OK mum"
Now as I said mollie doesn't understand time so I can bend what 20 minutes actually is! As long as she gets abit of time on it she is usually ok! But in the case of her wanting something in 20 minutes.....well thats a whole different issue! For example, her dinner! She will come into the kitchen and ask for dinner!
"Mum, can I have dinner please?"
"Yes mollie, I'm cooking it now!"
"Dinner in 20 minutes mum?"
"Bit longer than 20 minutes mollie but it won't be long"
"OK mum" ...... she leaves the kitchen and comes back in 30 seconds later......
"Mum, dinner ready?"
"Not yet mollie, nearly?"
"How long mum?" .....now this is where I use her "20 minutes".......
"It'll be 20 minutes mollie"....but thats when she throws a curve ball into the mix!!
"Dinner be ready in 5 minutes mum?!"
I'm like,......WHAT??? where the hell did 5 minutes come from???.....she is trying to confuse me....throw me off my game!!
So I was like, nah I'm not having this...
"Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes mollie!"
To which she replys.... "10 minutes mum?"
Arrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh
Now this goes on for quite a few minutes, her trying to bargain with me on the time dinner will be ready, whilst I'm actually trying to cook her dinner, which she is slowing me down on doing, all the time throwing numbers at me of which she knows are lower than 20 but still has no idea of how long an actual minute is!!?? 😆
Mollie likes to repeat and resite things over and over and over......
Programs she watches and bits from utube, acted out by her word for word and usually in the accents they talk in on the program too!! .she also does all the actions and noises as well.....which can be very interesting depending on what she watches.....she has always liked the Disney animated films and you find alot of them have hidden adult humour.....now mollie doesn't understand jokes or sarcasm ect but she loves loud, crazy and hectic things when it comes to her viewing preferences!
Took mollie to the beach with a friend last summer....... she was chattering away reciting some monologue from something she had watched......we all went in the sea and she was splashing about, then out of her mouth at the top of her voice came....
"We're all gonna die!!"....over and over and over.....
Mollies behaviour is very unpredictable too....you have to be on your guard because you never quite know what she will do next.....she is very litteral, which was why i almost had a heart attack when I was once sitting in the garden and mollie was in our front room, she was chatting away then she came bounding into the garden .,threw herself down onto the floor and sort of curled into a ball and screamed at the top of her lungs......
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!!".......I must admit I was waiting for the explosion!!!! 😆
Mollies visits to the toilet can be interesting too!
Now where mollie has a lack of understanding she doesn't really get that if your body doesn't need a wee .you don't need the toilet!
She thinks that if she has a few swigs of her juice then her wee will come out immediately after that! So in true mollie style, she sits on the toilet wanting and expecting to do a wee but can't......thats when I hear her dolsit tones......
"I need to wee!!"
"Come on wee wees!!"
"You can do it!!"
I'm like......"you ok mollie?"
"I need to wee!"
So I tell her to try again later.....yea like that helps!! But I say it anyway!! 😆
"I need to wee now!!"
" come on wee wee's"
"You can do it!!!"
This is repeated over and over till she usually manages to squeeze some out..
Something new was added the other day which was slightly amusing....
"Come on wee wee's"
"You can do it."
"Come on wee wee's"
"Not now poo!!!"
"Come on wee wee's!!" 😆 🤣 😂
There definitely isn't a dull day with mollie about.....always waiting for what comes next!.........