I will admit that the tether training was the part of the entire training that made me anxious. I mean, let's take an active, strong willed child with autism and tie him to a dog!! I think I knew deep down that it would work but as is my personality, I braced and prepared for the worst (the worst being meltdowns, screaming, kicking, and hitting) and it never came.
Kati arrived Sunday morning and we prepped Hazel's pack with the tether. We then introduced JJ to his belt. He was completely calm about the entire situation. He stood still for us to put his belt on (he did quickly learn how to unclip it though!) and then attached him to the tether that attaches to Hazel's pack. He grabbed his handle and we were off to the truck!
Quick stop at the commissary and JJ was great! He demanded to go to the bathroom so off we trucked to the restroom. He was calm and really easy about the entire thing. He just walked alongside Hazel, who was beside me, and we bought bananas and skittles and headed back to the truck.
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| Leaving the commissary, completely calm and happy! |
Off to church we went! I was to spend the morning in the 3-5 year old classroom with JJ and his Buddy Jenn. Our church has a special needs ministry and JJ is blessed to have Jenn by his side during Sunday School. Jenn is also our babysitter so she has lots of contact with JJ during the week. So, Kati spend some time training Jenn how to handle Hazel as well since I will not be in the classroom with JJ and Jenn on Sundays.
I cannot tell you how much respect I gained for the volunteers in the 3-5 year old class that morning. Wow, there is alot going on in there!! Hazel and JJ did great! JJ didn't fight the tether. He got to go play on the playground (unattached of course) and he had a blast.
After church we decided to go to Qdoba for lunch, Jenn joined us too. We went through the line, got our food and went to sit down. JJ sat on a chair and ate his lunch completely calmly. No trying to get down and run away, no tantrums, just peacefully eating his lunch.
After Qdoba, we decided to go to PetSmart to allow the boys to each make a tag for Hazel's collar. Here was the first major issue with JJ. He wanted to ride in the shopping cart (where Elliott was) and he couldn't because he was tethered to Hazel. However, the tantrum he threw was very mild. Kati and I talked him through it, giving him choices of what he wanted to see and we decided that the tags could wait. Part of the problem turned out that JJ didn't want to walk with Josh and Elliott. Once he told them to go a different way, he was fine! We even ended up picking out tags for Hazel's collar and JJ got to choose the font and he had so much fun watching his tag be engraved.
Back to the car we went and we went home for a rest. This was a big day for all of us and we decided to end while everything was going so smoothly. We did decide to meet up again for dinner with Kati. JJ wanted to go to Outback and so off we went. Again, he sat on his chair for the duration of the meal with no complaints, no attempts to get down, no tantrums. He was happy doing a word search with Josh and singing to himself.
I wanted to cry so many times today but not from frustration. It was such a JOY to see my son enjoying himself like any other child could. It was beautiful to watch and after the boys were in bed that night, Hazel and I spent some time cuddling on the couch. It was my way of thanking her for the normalcy that she has brought to our lives.
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