Rough Days

Today John ran a fever. This could explain some of his erratic behavior over the last couple of days. I've noticed that when anything out of the ordinary makes John not feel well, the stereotypical behavior is brought to the forefront. With my husband out of town on business and John coming down with something, we have had a rough day every day since Monday.

Today, John was triggered when my mom wasn't staying for dinner. He wanted her to eat with us, but she was heading to her home to eat. He purposely spilled his orange juice, which then set him off, bolting to another room, spinning in circles, crying and disrupting "order" by taking balls out of the ball pit and throwing them. He was put in a time out, but wouldn't stand against the wall and ran to the freezer, opening and closing the door. A second attempt sent him bolting to the ball pit, throwing his whole body clumsily into the edge and over the top, laying very still saying "mommy don't take me out. no time out." I told him he had a few minutes to calm down and then he needed to finish the time out. It took coaxing and a stronger will than his and I managed to get through the time out. As soon as the timer beeped, the smile appeared on his face and he came to me for the hug. The beep of the timer not only ends the time out, but is ending the behavior. I need to use that.