A Week With Anson

Since last Sunday I've been staying at my son Rob's home taking care of his 10-year old son, Anson, while Rob, Cindy and their 8 year old daughter, Brooklyn, went to Arizona for a week. I've written about Anson before here.  He's profoundly autistic and presents his own set of challenges.  It was originally Rob and Cindy's plan to take Anson with them, but they realized that with his behaviours and fears, flying would be very difficult for him and  there'd be other issues once they got to Arizona.  Anson needs his routines and has to feel safe.

Lloyd was going to be there with me, but then he had to be out of town for work and only joined us for the last two days.  Anson and I managed very well on our own, as it turned out.  Our daily routine was mapped out, with him spending time at the Children's Center (it was a school holiday this week) where he is well known and liked by the workers who devote their time to working with special needs kids. He always greeted me with a hug when I came to pick him up and was happy to be with me.  He has such funny little quirks - like stripping down the minute he walks in the house and putting on his 'comfort' clothes. 

Several times during the day he'd drag his duvet into my bedroom (his parent's bedroom) along with nine books, grab my hand and tell me he wanted to snuggle.  So we'd go in and lay on the bed and I'd read all nine books to him (luckily they were short pre-school type of children's books).  After about the third day of this, I realized that we were reading the same books in the same order each time.  He loves books.  Those were my favorite parts of the day.

He loves the computer and spends a lot of time watching YouTube (with parental guides in place) and Sesame Street clips. It's amazing how he can maneuver around the computer.

Anson on the computer

On Saturday Lloyd and I brought him to our place for the day where he had fun exploring a new environment and getting into all sorts of stuff.

He's such a happy boy - we had no incidents, no meltdowns, no problem behaviour.  He took his medications without a fuss and ate everything that was prepared for him.  His diet is simple - gluten free, dairy free, and minimal sugar.  We ate lots of vegetables, mostly raw, and meat and rice cakes.  All with liberal servings of ketchup!  

Breakfast - bacon, rice cakes, vegetables, apple juice

I learned so much about Anson this past week and came away with a much greater appreciation for Rob and Cindy. It's not easy having an autistic child.  The vigilance is constant and tiring.  They moved here from Regina several years ago because this area reportedly has the best programs and services for autism in Canada.  As well as programs for the autistic children, there are programs and helps for parents, caregivers, and siblings of special needs kids too.  Rob and Cindy take advantage of them all, especially the much needed respite workers.  And Brooklyn participates in the programs for siblings, because their life is affected by the needs of the family as well. 

So, although I was nervous about having the responsibility for Anson, I was glad I spent this week with him.  It was good for both of us. He's a precious little boy.