As David grows I grow confident that he will maintain a healthy place in society. But there are still fears. He no longer bites. But now he chokes.
Celia and Rhys were standing together. Celia was confronting David. Verbally bullying him. Something she knows better than to do. David felt threatened and rather than lash out at Celia, he choked Rhys. Yup. Choked him. In fact it was the first time the boys were at my house. I invited them over the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to paint Christmas ornaments and hang out. Eat pizza. Play Wii. Maybe watch a movie.
Avery fit right in with my boys. Hooting and hollering. Jumping around and playing on the Wii. The four of them were adorable. Rhys is more like Ryan. They enjoy quiet and order. Something I learned long ago to live without. So Rhys was mostly hanging around outside on the patio. Celia had found him to be a kindred spirit. More prone to conversation and reading than screaming and acting out video game deaths.
I don’t know what the argument was about. The three of them were outside. David backed against a wall. Rhys not understanding the situation but standing next to Celia. Celia probably felt empowered with a peer next to her. And she pushed. Not physically. But she was in David’s face. I’m sure doing her best authoritative voice and telling him what he was not allowed to do. Then David snapped. He lunged right for Rhys and choked him. Celia yelled for him to stop and ran inside for help. That was about the only thing she did right. Ugh.
I was close to tears.
Rhys was upset and said (several times) that he should have hit David with the [wiffle ball] bat. David was steaming. And Celia, of course, was defensive.
Ryan pulled Rhys aside and explained David’s Autism. He told him it was okay to block an attack but not to hit. Especially with a bat.
With prompting David apologized right away. Later during the movie David burst into tears and apologized again.
I’d like to say that was the only instance. But it wasn’t. We’ve had a few others. Just his siblings. But that doesn’t make it any less scary. It doesn’t make me any less upset when it happens. It doesn’t make me any less scared for his future.
I so understand these fears and the confidence. We have been having problems with Kris acting out in anger. Sometimes we can see it coming and other times you stand there scratching your head wondering what set that off. Ya know, God had a plan when he created our boys and I have to trust that He has a plan for their future as well. Love ya!
Thank you, Melissa!