Casey has been on edge this week. While I have seen her beautiful smile and twinkling eyes often, I’ve also seen the irritable side of her. The one that OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) grabs and won’t let go at times. She has been “off” and I’m not sure what to blame.
We did have a big storm that was supposed to hit us, but luckily, it went around. Rob was especially loud that afternoon, as the barometer dropped. The weather does affect her, but not always as bad as it does him. She was just grouchy. I completely understand that everyone has off days and they bounce back, but she’s been different for almost a week.
She’s focused on her calendar and keeps repeating things she wants to do, even when I tell her I will not put ride the rides at the fair on her October calendar, yet. Nor will I write when we will go to the water park. Or when Mandy’s baby is coming. And when I put her off and explain that I can’t write things I don’t know, she snorts and flips her hair. (Oh my God – the attitude!) She wants things written down – NOW!
She wants Cory’s car show at the fairgrounds and is irritated that it is on Main Street this year. She wants Anna’s birthday, Lacey’s birthday, July 4th, a cookout at Hopewell, and sparklers – and she wants it all written on her calendar. Now. I have written everything I can, but I can’t write that we will have cake for Anna and Lacey because I don’t know when or if that will happen. So, she snorts and flips her hair again. (Yes, her hair is short, but the way she flips her head, I know what she is doing!)
She is irritated that there isn’t any laundry in the dryer. Or that I can’t tell her what we are having for supper – tomorrow night!
But – there are happy smiles, too, so I know this isn’t something that needs addressed with her doctor, yet. If she was nothing but irritable, I’d be concerned, but she’s just picking and choosing what to get upset about and driving me nuts in the process. Because, once she gets fixated on something, as you know, she can repeat it until I want to scream. A conservative guess for discussions about the car show yesterday (it isn’t until mid July!) would be near 100.
I surprised them Thursday with a trip to the zoo. They both love the zoo. He wants to see turtles – she just likes being there. This time, she slept all the way over (about 90 minutes) and then basically stayed completely serious/on edge until we had lunch. She started asking a few minutes after we arrived – way too early for lunch. She barely looked at anything until we finally had lunch, then she perked up and looked around. She got fixated on lunch and nothing would make her happy until we ate.
Her OCD is really grabbing her lately and it won’t let go. I haven’t changed any meds, so that’s not it. She is happy between compulsions (and really, the compulsions aren’t affecting anything but our conversations, so far) so I don’t feel she needs to see her doctor. What I would like to know is why.
Is it the weather? The phase of the moon? Is she not sleeping enough? Is something going on that I don’t know about? Is she going to have anxiety issues like Rob does? Or – and most of the time, I truly believe this – is she just trying to keep me on my toes? 🙂 Wouldn’t want Mom to get too comfy in how well things are going for them, would we?
But really, that’s the autism is. You have routines for years that can’t be changed at all, then all of a sudden, no one cares about those routines. You can’t eat certain foods, then you can. You can’t wear certain clothes, then you can. You can sleep all night, then you can’t. You can eat chips, then you can’t. You can’t brush your teeth, then you can.
Autism is like dancing. Sometimes, it’s slow and steady like a waltz – the same steps repeated over and over in a beautiful pattern. And then… Irish jig time. No one tells you the steps, only that you have to keep up and not stop. And you are out of breath and wondering what the heck is going on.
Yep – been there, done that. I’m just thankful that, so far, Casey is only repeating things constantly. She isn’t getting mad or having a meltdown, just getting irritable and pushy about what she wants. I can handle this. I can answer her without really thinking if I need to. And when I get close to losing my mind…..
I offer her a cookie. It’s not bribery – it’s behavior modification. 🙂