Can I ask for some coping help here or some ideas?
I've called EI to start the process on getting DS tested. They sent me some paperwork already and sent our info off to the local school district and I'm supposed to hear from the testing coordinator by the end of the week.
A little background... I didn't start the process because we suspect anything with him until last summer. We just moved across the country this month. And this past week DD is starting move more so she's had extra attention to prevent injury because the place is covered in boxes and stuff she can get hurt on.
As a result of everything DS seems to be regressing. I've always known he was definitely high needs but I feel we're both at our breaking points here with each other. He is incredibly clingy now. He is finally talking more and communicating but it's still hard to decipher what he wants sometimes which adds to the tantrums. Which leads to the past couple of nights.
He's been waking up and throwing a tantrum or possibly in some sort of nightmare. The other night I was able to give him a hug and offer him a drink and lay down with him. He went back to sleep. Last night however was the worst. He threw an hour and a half tantrum saying no and telling me and dh to go away. I could not figure out what was going on with him. I walked away a couple times before my temper and exhaustion got the best of me. The final time I walked away was it for him because he slammed his head into the wall twice. He finally asked to be held and I sat with him for another 45 minutes until he fell asleep and holding him. It took three attempts to get him laid down on the bed and for me to be able to leave the room to get my own rest. He's waking/keeping everyone up here. DH has an hour long commute and gets up very early because he's on first shift. This has been going on since Saturday with last night being the worst out of these few nights. I don't know if I can handle it again tonight. We need help. I'm open to ideas/suggestions. Is there any advice here? Has anyone gone through this?
Re: Can I ask for some coping help here or some ideas?
I think a move for any child is going to take some adjustment. That is a lot to cope with, especially for a sn child. I know anytime my ds routine is drastically changed, say like an OOT trip, or being home with mommy on a school break, throws him out of whack. He is use to predictability, and that is gone, he is use to his typical environments, that is gone, so on and so forth.
The best thing that works, in new situations, is to explain to ds what we have planned for the day. Some kiddos need a picture schedule, mine never did. Try to keep things similar day to day. Make sure that he is surrounded with familar things in his room, home, etc. He may need this structure for a while to feel more secure. Once he has that security, you obviously can stray away from it as needed, so he doesn't get too rigid about things.
Is the being held while going to sleep an ongoing thing? If so, it may be a sensory thing. If not, it again, could just be an insecurity thing with the changes going on around him. Good luck and I hope you get some rest sooner than later.