Get out of my room!

Recently my husband and I decided to take a few minutes a week and spend some extra time (one-on-one) with our children. We have three kids, so I thought this would be good for us. So, we picked a day for each child and they get to spend some time with us. They also get to pick what we do during that time.

Last night was Rhys' turn. I knew he wouldn't really understand what we were doing, but I thought he'd enjoy the time with us. I was wrong! You don't mess with an autistic child's schedule! When the other children were getting ready for bed, we tried to explain to him that he can stay up and spend some time with mom and dad. He looked terribly confused and said "No".

We saw this happening, in a way, but we always try to push Rhys outside of his box a bit. I think that's good for him. So, I go upstairs and start getting him ready for bed. The husband and I decide to try to read him a book while he's in bed or something. We sat on his bed with him and he doesn't like this. He keeps telling us to get out of his room and to move. He just didn't understand why we were there. We just kind of laughed and decided to let him be.

I'm sure there is some way that Rhys will enjoy time with us. We are just going to have to be creative. He loves to be outdoors, so maybe we could go outside. He can't say no to that! There is something that breaks a mom's heart when her baby tells her to leave him alone. This is something a lot of parents of an autistic child go through. I get sad for a minute, but I realize there are moments when he wants to sit and cuddle with me throughout the day. Those are our moments and I will never take them for granted.