A Massive Meltdown Set the Tone for the Entire Day and that Sucks
It’s been one of those days where I’m not sure how we’ve made it this far. lol
For the first time in a while, Emmett almost didn’t make it to school because of sensory processing issues. Those issues were of course related to his clothes. Truthfully, I don’t think he was feeling well. He was complaining of a headache and tummyache but I don’t know if that was behind his struggles or just influencing them.
By the time we worked through it, we were an hour late to school and they had missed breakfast.
We stopped by McDonald’s on the way so the boys could get something to eat before dropping them off at school.
Emmett was hanging on by a thread already but when McDonald’s screwed up his order not once, not twice, but three times – I thought all hopes of getting him to school were lost.
Thankfully, he managed to pull through it, although not without a massive meltdown.
When we got to the school, Elliott was out the door and on his way in but Emmett started to freak out again because he wasn’t feeling well.
We finally convinced him to go but that required some creativity and patience. He would go to school but I would need to call and check on him about mid-morning. He didn’t trust that his teachers would allow him to come home if he wasn’t feeling well, so the office said they would call him to the office and put him on the phone with me.
Emmett, like many others on the Autism spectrum, tends to generalize things. If something happened one time, Emmett assumes it will always happen.
His teachers simply have him put his head down to rest when he’s not feeling well to see if that helps. It’s meant to figure out if they are actually sick or just stressed out. In Emmett’s mind, however, that meaning is lost.
Emmett agreed to try school out and I called him when I said I would. He still wasn’t sure if he was feeling better or not so I suggested I call back after lunch and check again.
When I called back after lunch, he wanted to come home because he was feeling so poorly. As promised, I headed out to the school to pick him up.
I’m super grateful for the school’s willingness to help us work through this today. I’m proud of Emmett for trying. I need to bring Elliott home as well, partly due to the time and because he wasn’t feeling well either.
By the time all was said and done, I was and still remain completely exhausted.
If you’ve never experienced a massive meltdown first thing in the morning or anytime for that matter, it’s truly hard to comprehend. It sucks for all people involved. It sets the tone for the day, drains me of all energy, and can send the day spiraling out of control.
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