Routines and quirks

When Sammy was younger routine was key to having a successful day.
One little kink in our routine and our day was completely thrown off.
Now that he's older he doesn't have to have the strict routine that he once had but we still do things in a certain order just keep to the normal flow of the day going.

Mornings always start off the same on school days. I get up at 5:45am and get my make up and hair done and then I get dressed. I usually have 10 minutes of internet time before waking Sammy up at 6:45am.
He gets up and has his breakfast then I get him dressed and his hair combed and teeth brushed.
Sometimes between my internet time and Sammy waking up Mandy decides to start her day. While I'm getting ready or Sammy's eating, baby girl will play in the living room, munch on some Cheerios and watch cartoons until Sammy is ready for school.
7:15 I start Mandy's routine and by the time she's clothed and fed it's off to school.

Our mornings use to not go so smoothly. Breakfast was a challenge because he would only eat Fruity Pebbles or mini pancakes. He would only eat his cereal out of certain colored bowls. Red, blue, green and orange bowls were acceptable. Yellow, pink, or glass bowls were not. Juice was only drank from 1 sippy cup and clothes were put on in a certain order. Underwear/pull-up, shirt, left sock, right sock, pants, left shoe and right shoe. Should I put the pants on after his underwear or put his right sock on before his left one it would send him into high anxiety mode and he would pull his clothes off in a panic and we would have to start over in the correct order.
Changing of the season was also hard. Going from shorts to pants and vice versa always threw him off and it was a battle. World War 3 broke out when coat weather arrived and between the ages of 2-3 he refused to wear a coat. If I tried to force him to wear one he panicked and in fear and anxiety he would struggle to get it off of him. I learned to keep a blanket in the car and just cover him up till we got where we were going.

Shoes were also a big thing with Sammy. Once shoes were put on, they were not to be taken off until it was bath time. Taking his shoes off during the day would cause a tantrum unlike anything you ever saw. Buying new shoes was the same way. He would attach himself to a pair of shoes like a small child would attach themselves to a particular toy or pet. Often times we would buy the same exact shoe in a bigger size in hopes he wouldn't notice the change once he out grew a pair.

Any clothing item that he had on would have to be changed immediately if he were to get food, juice or a stain on it. Having a toddler can be messy at times so clothes were changed at least 2-4 times a day and I had a never ending pile of laundry. Even the tiniest of spots would upset him terribly.

When Sammy was less than a year old he had this pacifier that was affectionately referred to as, "stinky binky". No other binky would do, and he would only take stinky.
The reason for it's name is because he sucked on that thing so much that it smelled terrible. No amount of soaking or dish washing made it smell better. It had the tan colored nipple and I'm pretty sure it was the rubber that it was made from on top of excessive sucking that made it stink.
Stinky went everywhere Sammy did and should stinky be forgotten in the car or left behind at the house we would have to go get it. I think eventually ole stinky wore out and he moved on to another satisfying yet less stinky binky.
Even at a young age he preferred things that were the same and familiar to him.

Even when he spent the night with my parents he had only one certain pair of PJ's he would wear over there. My mother bless her heart tried and tried to get that boy to wear different sets of PJ's but only the camo PJ's with the turtles on them would do. He wore those things until they were so snug he looked like a stuffed sausage in them.

When spring and summer rolled around and kids were lining up on the street to by buy ice cream from the ice cream truck we scrambled to get Sammy indoors before he heard it coming. Not because he would have freaked out wanting ice cream but because the sound of the ice cream truck bothered him.
Sammy's hearing is amplified which means some things that sound normal to us sound loud and distorted to him.

Movies are another place that aren't good for a lot of kids on the spectrum. Sammy's sensory issues don't allow him to process a movie the way most people process it. It's to loud for him and to crowded.

As he gets older we defeat old challenges just to be face with new ones. Old fears are conquered and habits are broken just in time to obtain new fears and habits.
Old quirks are forgotten and new ones take their place. Old routines are replaced with new ones and a new challenge always arises.

The one thing that never changes and will always stay the same is our love, devotion and dedication to helping our son as he faces the everyday struggles of Autism.