Our Seasons of Life with Autism

In life we all go through different seasons.

These seasons come and go as time goes on. Sometimes we even live in these seasons without even realizing we are in them. 

When Charlie was younger we lived through a season of train obsessions.

He loved trains to no end and would sometimes stay up until the wee hours of the night because he just HAD to play with them.

 He still loves them now, but the obsession has died down. The train obsessed season has passed. 

There was a season, a very long season mind you, when our schedule was dictated by therapies. 

I would drive to therapy after therapy, day after day with Charlie, most times his brothers in tow as well. This season was grueling to be honest. When I look back I wonder how I ever managed to work part time too. 

We’ve lived through seasons of immense dysregulation and constant meltdowns, self injurious behavior and destruction.

 I don’t talk about that a lot because those moments in time do not define my son and I don’t want the world to only see that part. 

The season we’re in right now, I think, is a season of searching and regression. 

Searching for more help, more therapists, more workers, more respite providers. You name it, we’re searching for it. 

There just aren’t enough people to provide the services Charlie needs right now. Regression because there hasn’t been enough therapies and practice of skills. 

And just like the others, this season will eventually pass and we’ll be well on our way into the next season in life. 

I guess what I’m trying to say is- tired mama, whatever season you are sitting in right now, please know it will not last forever.

I’m not saying that what you’re going through isn’t hard or that it doesn’t feel like it’s going at a snail’s pace. Life will shift and things will change. 

Eventually you will see a new season.