How does Autism affect my family part 2....

If you made it through yesterdays post, well done! And thanks for sticking with me! Today I thought I'd do a second post to carry on with some of the other things we go through here in Dee's house.

Yesterday I chatted about finding out about my children's diagnosis, sensory issues, and a bit about school. But what other stuff is there? Well there is a lot!

Food
Food is a massive issue in this house, not with me lol, I'll eat almost anything!, but my children are a different story. My Daughter (C), is getting a lot better since starting school dinners in September. She now eats some meat, and tries different things a lot. My son (J) is sooo different. Fruit: C will only eat bananas, J won't eat any fruit. Veg: chips! Seriously, frozen potato things like chips, waffles, and potato letters is really the only veg they eat willingly! C has started eating a few peas on her school dinner but that is it. Meat: C is enjoying chicken and turkey, and has tried pork and beef and liked it a little, she also likes gammon at school. J, no meat at all, except (again), frozen processed crap like chicken dippers, popcorn chicken etc etc. But one issue we are having is J's lunch, he will only eat toast with dairylea cheese, every single day since July last year :/  But even though i worry about their diet, their paediatrician says not to worry much, as the goodness they get from their daurylea cheese, yogurts and milk is alright at the moment. And one way of getting fruit into them without knowing, is these things that look like sweets, but are in fact raspberries/strawberries/raisins covered in a little dried yoghurt. They don't eat much chocolate or sweets, so if these fake sweets lol are going to get a little fruit into them, that's the next best thing!

Babysitter

Me and Chris going out can sometimes be a nightmare. We are very lucky in the fact that because routine is so important to people with autism, my children got to bed at 7pm on the dot and go straight to sleep. So when we do want to go out, we have to leave after the kids are in bed. There are only 3 people who can get my kids to bed apart from me and Chris, and that is my sister, my aunt and my Dad. My lovely friend and next door neighbour often babysits after the kids have gone to bed, but only after, as last time they wouldn't go to bed for her, and J ended up downstairs on the sofa. This doesn't seem such a bad thing to some, but honestly it is. It ruins their night, it gives them expectations of being able to do it every night. This also means we can't just get any babysitter either, it has to be someone we trust and that the kids know. This doesn't give us much wiggle room for a night out if our 4 babysitters are busy.

Going out with the kids
Taking the kids out can be  nightmare. J was using a special needs pushchair up until around January this year, and to be honest it was easier! As he's still getting used to walking properly outdoors, getting somewhere on foot can take a while longer! As I mentioned yesterday, J has sensory issues with public transport because of the crowds, therefore we taxi everywhere if it's not in walking distance, or if it's raining pretty bad. if the crowds in the place we go are too much, this ends up in a  meltdown with either child. For example, we could never take them into a supermarket, as the crowds and noise was too much and it ended up with them both screaming, and us just leaving without our shopping. Things are getting better though, and since we introduced it a few minutes first, then a  little longer, they can now cope fr about 20/25 minutes in a quiet-ish store.

Routine
Routine is huge in this house. I've seen many tantrums just because we've walked a different way home from school or the shops. But little things like that we change sometimes, just so they get used to it. There are certain things in their routine that they need though. Like their milk before bed. They have a small glass of milk each night before bed, if they don't get it, they won't go to bed, and won't sleep properly. They know that after milk comes bed.Their bed time has to be the same every night, 7pm. We can wiggle it 5 minuted either way, but they just know when its bed time now. There are things that cause major kick offs though, like one time my Dad took me in the car to pick J up from school, so he expected it every day, and when it wasn't happening, J would scream and cry and fight, and refuse to come home!

So there you have it. A bit of a look into our lives here. You know, it's manic sometimes, loud most of the time, and crazy all of the time! But I wouldn't change it. My kids are amazing, beautiful and extremely loving. When things are going a bit sour through the day, their kisses and cuddles are all I need to remind me that things could be so much worse, and I love them with all of my heart. And I'm sure they love me too :D