The Christmas season is full of extra stressors in an autistic person's life. Words like "going to", "wait", "can't" seem to be popping up constantly. John can immediately sense our concern about the amount of time we have left before the 25th. As it is, he needs at least fifteen minutes to understand and accept an unexpected itinerary for the upcoming day!
So this "Christmas talk" begins to build anxiety instead of expectancy. The alpacas are our pressure value here at Alpaca Shack.
As we begin the day with a "to-do" list in hand and a preoccupied demeanor, John is ready to blow. Ticing and shouting unacceptable words (Tourette's Syndrome characteristics), we head arm and arm out to our alpacas. Distraction is key to defusing these types of situations. The more we react to his behavior, the more it escalates. With verbal cues, John enters the pen. I am always amazed at the immediate change that comes over our son in these events. Within seconds I can hear the softness in his voice as he starts to interact with Alameda, one of our out-going females.
Once into the morning's routine, John navigates the entire day-completed by lunch with our 90 year old uncle.
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