Autism, Holiday Vacations and Keeping Busy!

Christmas Day was wonderful! My daughter made me the most heart-warming book of poems along with artwork. This is a gift I will treasure forever. Handmade gifts always have a special meaning to me. 

The visits we had planned on Christmas Day, had to be postponed until today. This transition was due to my daughters health. She had a focal seizure in the morning on Christmas day and became very tired afterwards. Both of us just rested all day, watching Christmas movies and relaxing.

Today we went on our visits and everything went well. We enjoyed some time with family, and then went to visit a friend. By the time we got home, both of us were tired! My daughter was glad we postponed our traveling until today. She enjoyed the entire day without any seizure activity.

Both days went smoothly, no anxiety or meltdowns. We both had a great time!

Autism, Holidays and Transitions

Holidays seem to be a difficult time of year for anyone with autism. Daily structure and consistency are helpful tools to prevent anxiety. If stress and frustration are a part of Holiday anxiety, re-direction may stop a meltdown before it begins. This takes planning ahead of time, but it is well worth it. Even though the Holidays are close by, there is time to make a plan. Transitions during visiting will be easier if an explanation is offered ahead of time. Input from a child, such as: "what will help you get through the next day?" may give you invaluable information. Some ideas we have used successfully include: plenty of rest, planned break times, limiting sweets, listening to soft music, reading a favorite book, and keeping our own anxiety in check! There have been times while we were visiting we found it necessary to shorten the length of our visit. Rarely, have we had to postpone due to a meltdown before we leave for our trip. A helpful tip would be to mention this to your host and answer any questions they may have a few days before the visit. If your child tolerates the transitions well, everyone will enjoy the time they spend together. These are the strategies we use, but you  may have some other great tips. Please comment and include the strategies which work well for you.

Researching Autism, Talents and Epilepsy

As my daughter's disabilities and talents progressed, so did the amount of her challenges. We noticed she began to have epilepsy-like episodes about two hours after she went to bed. Off to the Neurologist for a consultation.... His impression was generalized epilepsy, and he started her on her first round of anti-epileptics. The medication worked and did not seem to affect the talents my daughter had.

While speaking with other Mom's and researching epilepsy, it became obvious to me that there was a high probability of autism plus epilepsy.

We made an appointment with a very well respected Doctor at a large teaching hospital with a special epilepsy unit. My daughter was evaluated and the Doctor's impression was Partial Complex Seizures. She also was experiencing focal seizures(like daydreaming).

For a few years my daughter's seizure activity was stable. Then puberty hit and her seizures returned on a daily basis. The Doctor increased her medication, but she still had to be careful.

No riding her bike, no swimming and adult supervision was necessary.

She replaced the activities with more painting, drawing and knitting.

Her interest in advocacy became strong, as she witnessed her classmates in school.

After attending a Conference, along with the break-out sessions she knew what her goal was.

My daughter has been working on becoming a Motivational Speaker for People with Invisible Disabilities.