Clonidine, don't fail me now!!!! =)

This is how well Clonidine worked on Saturday night.... =)

Here's a little pic of how Miguel's self-stimming behaviors affect him...

Note: bruised forehead from "head-banging". He'll spontaneously bang his head against the edge of a table, the corner of the table, square on a table, a wall, he'll hit his head with his own cane, his fist and he'll try to headbutt my arm while I lead him. Miguel has been known to drop down to the ground and headbutt the cement, too. This almost always brings a tear to my eye.



Furthermore, his lips are almost ALWAYS chapped, crusted, peeling, etc. from licking his hands. The backs of his hands actually get callouses from the licking behavior. When we lived in Chicago, the cold, dry winters, in combination with his licking, would cause his hands to bleed.













The whole weekend was really relaxed, so there are no meltdowns to report. (YEAH!!!) But relaxed isn't the norm. I keep a tight, structured schedule for every weekend. We are very predictable day-to-day because, well, we have to be. Autism rules my life.












We slept in Saturday because the weather wasn't conducive to my scheduled ride. I've also found that since Winter break, Miguel has been wanting to sleep in more. This is tough for school days and for me, since I am A HUGE MORNING PERSON!!









So, we caught a cyclocross race that afternoon. Miguel was kinda FANTASTIC and enjoyable. The little beefcake likes to be outdoors as much as possible.

Sunday, he went to the sitter for the afternoon while I went for a little ride. He was great for Didi, as usual.

Here's the deal though, he went to sleep at about 2130 (which is SUPER late for him) and he woke up around 0300. He fell back asleep around 0500, after a good bath.

THEN!!! Last night he went to sleep around 2100 BUT he woke up at 0130.....Yeah, he sooooo didn't go back to sleep. This little dude has been up since 0130!!!! Oh, and so have I. I can actually sleep through the Perfect Storm, unless I know Miguel is up. Only one time, did he sneak out of the bedroom and head for Uncle Jason's room. I intervened at the door. Whew!!! Close call.

My intervention skills haven't been that honed since I moved here. I find that I sleep more peacefully when I know there is another adult in the house to be alert, too. When Miguel and I lived alone in an apartment, I'd wake for EVERYTHING, sleep on the sofa (to watch the refrigerator and the front door) or just sleep on his bedroom floor. He can be a bit of a handful at times. By "at times", I mean "all the time". =)

Anyways, I am hoping to find another job soon and I hope it is better paying, so that Miguel and I can get a place of our own and return to an independent state of normalcy. I feel bad "living" in my brother's house so much. We wear it out pretty good.

"The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it."

--Henry David Thoreau