Yesterday was a good day. Today was not such a good day.
Everything is such a struggle with Roger. I know 3 is a tough age for any kid and that tantrums are a common denominator. But, adding the volume of his screams, the length of his meltdowns, his inability to be distracted or redirected, his hitting/kicking me in public, this is all becoming too much to handle. Being out with him for a couple of hours feels like it drains all my energy for the entire week.
Well, after our outing where all the above occurred, we met a therapist in our home. Luckily, Roger’s fantastic behavior continued while the therapist was present. She got to see him rage, scream uncontrollably, kick and hit me, roll around on the ground, headbang, etc. She even got to see him kick me then grin afterwards. No in-depth explanation of what Roger does while he acts angelic for the interventionist needed this time around.
We discussed how our therapy should focus on outings and controlling his behavior in the natural environment. At least, even if I decide on another therapist, we concluded that center-based therapy would be of no help at the present time — so that erases about 15 ABA clinics off of my list. And one of those clinics confirmed that our insurance does not cover ABA therapy. Although I knew this was the case, receiving the denial letter depressed me even more. It is strange how that works. I did send a letter to my job telling them of this incident and asking them to consider a plan that does include ABA for 2014. One can hope….In the meantime, $50 an hour for therapy is a deal in these neck o’ the woods. That money tree better start growing really quickly!
Spinning Wheels 