I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that we are all feeling better at my house. Unless of course Dakota gives the cold that I gave to him back to me, then I give it back and on and on....the gift that keeps on giving. Could be worse though; he could decide to start on the 'Knock Knock' jokes while I'm stuck in bed. How long do you think I'll sleep if I make a cocktail of decongestant, anti-histamine and chicken broth?
We're going out of town this week and Dakota will be staying with grandma for a couple of days and then with a friend for one night. This is the first time we have gone away for more than one night without Dakota. I must admit I have reservations about it- outside of the usual worrying about him while we are gone. There is the issue of change. Children with ASE, FAS or several other disorders in general -and Dakota specifically- have trouble with change. To be more precise, they have difficulty transitioning from one activity, person or situation to another. He becomes unsure how to act because he cannot change gears that quickly. I don't think he is scared or worried. I believe he knows we will be back. He is just unsure of himself. This leads to the second issue- his behavior.
Dakota is unpredictable even under good conditions. This is true even for us; we don't always know how he will react or why. It makes it that much more difficult for us to ask people to stay with him. Dakota is used to grandma and she has seen about all of his moods so that is not really an issue (also I threaten him with everything in my arsenal if he is disrespectful to her), but staying with our friends is another story- although our friends are going to keep him at our house so they can maintain some familiar surroundings for him. I have no idea what his reactions or moods are going to be so I am worried about how everyone will get along. Our friends are great people and I know they will take excellent care of him- but will THEY ever be the same! It is a sad fact that I still worry about what people think of him (even good friends like them) or perhaps what people think of us as parents. But I also wonder what might be going through his mind and emotions. Does he need us as anchors to know how to act or to use us as his gauge for whether his responses are appropriate or not?  Come to think of it, I could use someone like that.