My son's life has always been unpredictable. His father left for a Korea deployment 2 weeks after his birth. We lived with my family for two years while Ben was away with a few visits in between. Upon Ben's return, we moved to Missouri. Less than two years later, we moved to Virginia. Finally, we ended up here in Texas.
It is no wonder Brother has such high anxiety. A child with autism thrives on the familiar. Brother had no idea where we were going to be from year to year. I can only imagine what the day to day was like for him.
During all this time, I was the only constant. Whenever I left him, he would be anxious. If it were at night, he would stay awake until I returned. And, then it would take days and days to get him back to comfortable. It became too costly for me to go out.
Last year, we turned the corner. I was able to really leave him behind. I even left him for an overnight trip. He was really, really worried and cried when I left, but he had a great time. Later in the summer, Ben and I were even able to leave him with a babysitter.
I know that lots of children with autism need medication to deal with other mental health issues. I'm thankful, Brother's problems are not too severe and that we're able to deal with it.
Right now, our issues deal with Ben's absence. He won't talk about it with anyone. If anyone brings it up, he changes the subject. I'm thinking he may need to visit a counselor because I don't want him to have this inside him with no way out.
Parenting is hard and I second guess myself all the time, but parenting a special needs child brings those doubts out more.
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