When Hailey was born that neat and tidy attitude took on a mind of its own. My life was out of control. I didn't handle anything very well. I cried at the drop of a hat. I yelled at friends and family and strangers for that matter.
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| Hailey age 1 year |
But I could control some things. I could control how organized I was. I could control how clean the house was. I could control the laundry and the dishes and the material things in our house. I could control how neat the yard was. I could control how everything looked on the outside even though my insides were a disaster.
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| Mom and Hailey age 1.5 years |
I'm still that way. I still have some pretty major elements of that behavior. I have learned to manage it pretty well so that I only detail clean the house once a week and I don't obsess over it every minute of every day. But I can't stand to have garbage in the bathroom garbage cans. I can't stand to have laundry in the hampers. I can't stand to have dishes in the sink.
When I am upset or stressed or overwhelmed...I clean things.
Does that make me weird? ~ probably. dysfunctional? ~ in some things. crazy? ~ aren't we all in our own ways?
The truth is...it works for me. It works for our family. It works for my husband and for my children. I was asked by one of Hailey's doctors if I was ever diagnosed...no I wasn't...do we all need a label?
Can't we just say that it is the way that I deal?
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| Mom, Aubrey age 3 & Hailey age 10 |
When you think that it is a weird way to be...just think...I could have turned to drugs or alcohol or other madness...instead I turned to cleaning ~ I don't think that's so bad!!
I had to post a comment for you. I am a teacher at a special (day) school for young people with intellectual disabilities in New Zealand. I am so lucky to have a young lady with Cri Du Chat in my class. She is almost 15 years old and has an amazing personality and is a real delight most of the time. She is quite typical in many ways- naughty, incredibly clumsy, often obsessive, noisy but sensitive to noise, and has frequent ear infections and tummy issues. She talks- in full sentences with expression and humor! Her speech is not always clear but she is so determined to be understood and will repeat herself until I know what she is saying. I can't believe that anyone would consider giving up on encouraging speech, especially once hearing problems have been sorted. We use multi-modal communication (visuals, signing, gestures and speech plus devices if appropriate- have you seen Proloquo-to-go on I-Pad and Ipod Touch?). I'm due to do IEP meetings shortly with the parents of the students in my class and they will be a lovely casual chat with some goal setting and problem solving as necessary. I'm so sorry that your IEP meetings are to stressful. My very special young lady is hard work, but is such a delight. She's had some major behavioral problems in the past but is growing up into a beautiful, caring person with lots of love, firm boundaries and heaps of fun. Never give up on that speech! I'll pop in and see what you're up to soon.
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