Changing diaper, picking up a box, bathing... pretty typical activities right? They are, unless you have a child with Autism/Sensory issues. In that case, they can easily become a nightmare.

Tonight after dinner, Grayson needed a diaper change. He refused, as always (unusual for his age). That was when his tantrum began. G remained upset after I got him dressed. I tried to entertain him by giving him an empty box (we were packing). Bad idea. His voice escalated. Then I tried taking the box away... another bad move! You see, this indecisiveness happens during every tantrum. You are screwed if you do, screwed if you don't. We learned that NOTHING makes him happy during these tantrums. We still try to calm him down each time... even though it never works. We are his parents, it is in our nature to help him. And dammit it hurts when we can't. The tantrums themselves do not bother me so much. Believe it or not, I have learned to tune them out. Tish and I just want to make him feel better. And that makes us feel better. For whatever reason, I thought bathing him would do the trick... what was I thinking!? We "surrendered" about 3-4 minutes into it. We needed to put Grayson in a room with carpet instead of tile, where he would less likely to hurt himself. Restraining him can only make things work. My method of choice is more like creating a "force field/bubble" around him with my body. It is NOT an easy task considering how G bucks and jerks chaotically. His movements are similar to his decision making capabilities: his body might seem to want to go one direction, but he would fuss before it gets there... it is so sad to witness. This went on for over 30 minutes. The all of sudden, Grayson snapped out of it. No more anger, not even residuals. It is like we flipped a switch or something. Tish and I looked at each other and tears started to flow. Our cries grew as we held each other. Tish described it perfectly when she compared his tantrums to earthquakes. They happen out of the blue, it is scary when they happen, and they are unpredictable. Main difference is earthquakes don't happen every day.

We need help. We are going to get help. We WILL be equipped to handle this one day.

Tish and I are exhausted. As a matter of fact, Tish "passed out" the second she hit the bed. I am heading there myself.