Roll with the Changes

 

“Keep on rollin’; keep on rollin’. Oh, you got to learn to roll with the changes.”––"Roll with the Changes" by Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon

Commonly, people with autism have strong preferences for sameness and routines, which makes them resistant to change. For example, Alex insists on having a bath every night at exactly 6:00, and rarely can we persuade him to move this daily event to another time unless a much better alternative event convinces him to alter his sacred schedule. However, we have noted that over time, he has become increasingly flexible and less anxious about changes in his routine. Indeed, he is learning "to roll with the changes."

This week was my first week of summer vacation from teaching, which could have thrown Alex for a loop since he’s used to just being with his dad in the mornings while I’m at work. As it turned out, I was gone for parts of four mornings with two meetings and two breakfast outings with friends. This probably helped Alex ease into the transition of our summer schedule. Also, I try to help him deal with any anxiety by always leaving him a note telling him where I’ve gone and when I will return, which seems to comfort any worries he may have about why I’m gone and when I will be home. We’ll see how he responds next week when I’ll be home because my morning schedule isn’t as busy.

On Monday, Alex had his routine six-month appointment with the psychiatric nurse practitioner who prescribes his medications for anxiety. We were pleased to discover that she deemed the results of all of his blood tests “perfect” because they indicate that he is in excellent health and that the medications are not having any negative side effects. In addition, we were delighted that his behavior was fantastic during the appointment, calm and pleasant while he answered all of her questions. Of course, Alex was pleased that her schedule was running right on time so that he didn’t have to sit in the waiting room.

After we discussed his progress with her, she raised the issue I knew was coming––reducing his medications. As she pointed out, we can say that because things are going well, we shouldn’t rock the boat and should keep the medications the same. On the other hand, she noted, because things are going well, this may be a good time to reduce his medications. In a twist of roles, Ed, who is usually more receptive to change than I am, commented that we probably shouldn’t make any changes because Alex is doing well. Although I completely understand his logic, my mother’s instinct believes that we need to see if Alex can cope with less medication, and so with some trepidation we will try weaning him off one of his medications this summer and pray that we are doing the right thing.

On Tuesday, Alex met with his behavioral therapist for his regular weekly session, which went very well. Although she often doesn’t arrive at the scheduled time because of her busy schedule that requires travel through heavy traffic between two counties, she was ten minutes early on Tuesday. While that could have thrown Alex for a loop, he adjusted nicely to her early arrival and had a great session with her. Similarly, he showed flexibility on Wednesday when his peer companion who spends every Wednesday afternoon with him had to cancel at the last minute because she wasn’t feeling well. With two changes to his beloved routine in two days––one minor and one major––he still managed to be upbeat and calm.

On Thursday, Alex had his weekly session with his music therapist who is always punctual, faithfully arriving at his scheduled time every week. This week, he arrived early, and Alex again dealt with this change very well. In fact, his music therapist described the session as “fantastic” and noted that this was the second week in a row where Alex had done especially well with him. Of course, we were pleased by this positive report. In addition, he handled nicely a change in our dinner routine because Ed and my dad were attending a dinner reception for VU basketball season ticket holders, so Alex, my mom, and I went out to a restaurant for dinner. Alex seemed to enjoy himself thoroughly, and we remarked how much we enjoy taking him out to dinner because he behaves so well.

Friday threw Alex another curve ball, however, when his behavioral therapist had to cancel our planned recreational therapy session due to a family emergency. Even though Alex had been looking forward to going out to lunch at Subway with her and me, he didn’t seem terribly upset that our lunch plans had been altered. Later that evening, we discovered that our central air conditioning had broken, yet Alex continued his calm demeanor. As the temperatures rose into the 90’s yesterday, he never complained about the heat and only seemed amused to watch the thermometer rise in his upstairs bedroom, commenting that the it had never been that hot before in his entire life.

Because we have to wait until next week for the air conditioner to be repaired and because our bedrooms upstairs were too warm, even with windows opened and fans turned on, we decided to sleep in the basement, where it was much cooler. As we set up the pull-out bed in the couch for Ed and me and put Alex in basement bedroom twin bed, he seemed to view the experience as a grand adventure. Although I was concerned about how he would sleep in a different bed, he once again showed his flexibility, sleeping soundly in a new spot.

While Alex, like many people––including me––prefers the comfort of familiar routines, he is learning to accept and perhaps even embrace changes that occur, even when he doesn’t have time to prepare for them. This increased flexibility makes our lives easier because we don’t have to worry about his anxiety escalating. Moreover, he is realizing that life doesn’t always go as planned, and learning to roll with the changes will make his life more content. This week with all its unexpected alterations taught Alex valuable lessons and reminded us just how far he has come, and we continue to be thankful for the progress he has made.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19