Once again, I humbly stand corrected, as James has blown my expectations out of the water. Since the beginning of Fall, he had been slowly sliding away. Officially, experiencing a temporary "regression." Personally? A horrifying experience! Watching helplessly as our son, my buddy, returned to behaviors we haven't seen since he was three. WHAT THE HECK? He was twisting his fingers. He was disappearing into his head, (to what we call "Planet Wang Woo"), where we had a tough time reaching him. He was acting incredibly silly and throwing tantrums in the middle of intersections. He completely stopped making a sound, let alone sleeping through the night. I hear all about set-backs. But, when month after month go by, you start to lose hope. It hard to take, seeing your son disappear back into a place you had fought so hard to get him out of. I am not being pessimistic. We have accepted our fate and try to face this life realistically. Although distraught on the inside, we have learned to simply keep going.
So? What happened after we were being so big about all this? Just what has my wonder child cooked up for Thanksgiving week? He has started paying attention and participating in life again. He is once more interested in books and puzzles. He has stopped crumbling up food on the couch. He is working for his therapists. His attention span has also returned. He even willingly agrees to color (although he now insists using every color before finishing). Yahoo James!! To top it all off, to make us weep and be grateful from our head down to our toes . . . during prayers last night, at the end where we say, "God Bless Mommy, Daddy, and James," my nonverbal son looks at us, nods, and adds "Gam-ma (and) Gam-pop."
