Bronxmom, I think it probably sounds more exhausting than it was. Thankfully, my son has always been very social, too, (just not very skilled at picking up on and using non-verbal communication or social cues), so it was not as if we were dealing with a child who did not want to interact with us at all, even on his own terms, which I think would have been *far* more exhausting for me. Running him around to OT and PT and vision therapy appointments felt much more demanding than finding ways to interest him in learning what we thought he needed to know. We've had a lot of fun, and great conversations along the way, and as I look back from the perspective of the years, I am really glad that we made the choices we did.
But there were certainly times when we agonized, worried, and stressed, and were convinced that we were failures as parents. We went through times where we contemplated divorce, or residential placement for my son, or sending him to public school, and we have done our time in the trenches fighting with professionals who tried to tell us that our son was just fine and didn't need any additional supports, or, alternatively, that he was never going to be functional, people who failed to see the extreme complexity that defines him. We somehow managed to keep our eyes on the goal most of the time, and that has gotten us through.
I don't know your son or what he needs, and I don't know what you and the rest of your family need, but I know that your son has a mom who will do everything in her power to find that out, and make it happen, and so I feel very hopeful for you and your son and your family in the future. You are reaching out for help in all the right places, and I feel confident that you will find the answers and solutions that you and your son need, even if what the solutions look like changes from year to year.
I hope that you all find the help you need to be able to be happy and fulfilled and hopeful for the future.
Best of luck on your journey, and feel free to vent or query anytime!
