Posts Tagged ‘residential treatment’
Because of the Lockdown, I Can’t See my Son
Yesterday was Autism Awareness Day. Autism awareness month is hitting our family hard this year, and frankly, my heart is broken. Many of you may know that my son Christopher is enrolled in a residential school for Autism, a school for kiddos with heightened behavioral challenges. We visit there every Wednesday, and bring him home on the weekends…every weekend, without fail. Until now. His school informed us that they are in lockdown. He has been there, hunkering down, with his peers, teachers, and therapists. We were told if we brought…
Read MoreResidential Treatment Made us Stronger
In May, Margaret shared the agonizing decision her family made to place their son William in residential treatment. He was admitted on March 13th. Two hours away from their home. They knew he may be there for six months or more. Margaret gave us a glimpse inside her world. A world that many parents don’t understand. “It was unfathomable just a mere year or so ago that I would ever consider “sending my son away” for treatment. He’d be with people we didn’t know. We wouldn’t know what was happening…
Read MoreAdjusting to Having a Child in Residential Treatment
This is a follow up post to ‘Let’s Talk About Residential Treatment.’ Margaret shares their families experience with making the agonizing decision to place their son in Residential Treatment. I never thought residential would be easy. It’s a whole different kind of roller coaster or maybe the power tower. The up. The down. Surprisingly, I find myself enjoying the “easy” parts. The day to day with just the two other boys, going to my sons baseball games, going out to eat and running errands. I can tell my body and…
Read MoreLet’s Talk about Residential Treatment
It was unfathomable just a mere year or so ago that I would ever consider “sending my son away” for treatment. He’d be with people we didn’t know. We wouldn’t know what was happening on an daily basis. It seemed too hard, too cruel, too long. UNTHINKABLE. Yet here we are. We have tried EVERYTHING. Inpatient hospitalization, day treatment, shorter school days, EBD program with small class size and lots of support. Occupational therapy, crisis therapy in our home, intensive in home therapy, outpatient therapy. We have invited home skills…
Read MoreThe Day We Drove our Autistic Son to Residential Treatment
I’ve gone round and round with deciding whether to share this part of our autism journey or not. I hope to share in a way that is always helpful as well as inspirational even though it definitely was a very low point. Everyone’s journey is going to be very different. Some are going to be filled with much more heartache and struggles but in the end we’re all striving to do our very best in learning how to navigate this world of autism. I hope you find something helpful in…
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