Autism is making me cranky!

Up at 4:45am yesterday morning and not in a nice pleasant roll out of bed, stretch your arms, breath and be ready for the day kind of way. And a repeat this morning, but worse. Up at 5:00am which I would ordinarily not mind, usually Ty is content to watch a video, eat some breakfast and just lay quietly while the rest of the family sleeps. It doesn't matter if it's 5am or 2am. It's really hard when he decides everyone else needs to wake up because "I'm dysregulated and can't get myself under control so I"m going to scream at the top of my lungs and behave like a maniac". UGH.. it's so hard to properly deal with behaviors when it's so early and you were up the night before so early. This is when Autism starts to make me cranky! It's hard to handle the every day challenges of parenthood when you're tired. It's hard to handle the every day challenges of having a child on the spectrum with major behavioral issues. It's hard to keep your cool and calmness to get through a more difficult time. I don't think there's enough coffee to get me through the day. But I will. I have to. These are not choices. These are the privileges, the ups and downs, the calm one finds in the storm. Our day will continue as usual. Behaviorist will be over shortly. We'll continue working on skills, especially coping skills and finding alternatives when he feels angry or frustrated. We'll continue about the day just like everyone else in the world. I know there will be some very great moments today- and my eyes are always ready to witness the moment when it happens. If you're not paying attention, you will miss them- but I"m always ready to take in the special moment when it occurs. That is better than any coffee. Even when Autism makes me so cranky! So I'll be waiting for my moment of the day. It hasn't happened yet, but it's still early.