Just a Small Example

Often, when I mention to people that L has poor impulse control, they say “oh, all kids do!”

Trust me, L is not like “all” kids.  Here’s just a small example:

At his party, the kids started playing with ice from the ice chest, which is all well and good, until they start throwing it at the adults.  So I said, loudly, “no more playing with the ice!”

L starts moving towards the ice chest.

“L!  Do not get any more ice!”

He keeps going for it.

Now, I’m standing right above him, with my head next to his.

“L – no!”

He starts opening the ice chest lid, as though he’s completely oblivious.

I grab his hand.  He keeps moving the hand I have grabbed toward the ice and grabs some.

I finally had to physically force him to drop the ice.  I really believe he was not in control of his actions.  At some point, he had decided to get the ice, and nothing could possibly stop him.

It may seem silly to even talk about this – after all, its just ice.  But its not just ice – its playing with the dog, bugging his brother, taking stuff from day care, drawing with a sharpie on the carpet – its constant.

THIS is L’s life.  Its not normal kid stuff.  Its why we’re exploring medications.  Its why he’s in therapy.  Its why my husband and I are exhausted and probably developing PTSD ourselves.

I’m so grateful for the ice incident, because its a crystal clear example of L’s behavior that I can share with his psych, therapist, and anyone else who needs to understand how my boy’s brain works.  It encapsulates the issue into one small story. One small story that illustrates so very much.