"My name is Marissa, it has been 8 hours since my last hit".
So, here we are week three into school and the hitting has begun. Last year, many of you may remember that hitting has been an on-going problem. One that we seem to get control over and then it starts again. Marissa's hitting is a tool of communication. Deep down I know that, but society doesn't see it that way, and therefore, it becomes a battle in our house of how we give out consequences for this action. We train our children not hit adults or other children. Some learn and some do not. Marissa is in the "does not" learn category. So like anything, I am trying to find the silver lining. The silver lining in this is that she does show some remorse and is always willing to say sorry. Does this mean that tomorrow she will not hit you, no, it means that the odds are if she is frustrated or stress, protect yourself because she is going to hit.
There are days when I think, I can't do this another day. How do you explain autism to a parent who has a child that has been hit by your child? Will they look at it as an excuse? Will they tell their child not to play with her? Will she be labeled a "behavior problem"? Or do Steve and I become the parents that everyone wants to avoid?
Today, I was feeling defeated. Not as defeated as I have been in the past, but never the less, defeated. Our consequences are not working and she does not seem to mind being without her prized possessions. We now have to hit our reset button and try something new again.
I have to hope and pray that one day, like many others in her life, it will dawn on her that hitting is not the way to go, using her words is.
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