Safety First.

Sleeping on the cold hardwood floor in the middle of the living room surrounded by noise and chores and the regular happenings of the day in the middle of the morning, sweetly covered by his twin sister. He slept this way for 2 1/2 hours.

This is what happens when you spend your night walking around the house, being put back to bed countless times, but eventually sneak your way out to your Mommy's car where Daddy finds you at 3am. Or when you climb on top of refridgerators to get the toys locked away in high cabinets at 2am. Or if you are found at 2:30am stabbing cans of Dr.Pepper until the liquid bleeds all over the counters and floors, for no reason at all. It's exhausting and leaves you so tired that you fall asleep right there in the middle of the floor.

We have since installed an alarm on his bedroom door that is turned on at bedtime. He tells us when he goes to bed that he is NOT going to come out because that noise is TOO LOUD, and so far, he hasn't. We have also started him on Melatonin to help him sleep better at night. It seems to be working. He is also sleepier during the day right now, but it's only been a few days so he hasn't quite adjusted. Hopefully, these two things will help keep him safe, which is obviously, our number one priority. I hate that it's come to this. I feel like he is trapped in there, but he has broken, removed, or just unlocked every lock we have ever tried. He has taken keys, he has hidden things, found things... so far, this is the only thing that has worked. I feel like we are manipulating his sensory sensitivity, but there is no way he is going to forgot what sound that alarm will make if he opens his door.

His behavior during the day is still better. Not nearly as harsh as it was before. He will shut down if he is over-stimulated, and there are certain triggers that we have been able to identify that send him into "Cale's World", but we are already learning how to handle those on our own. And we are meeting the most random people in the most random places who have been SO helpful in sharing their own experiences! Just called today to check on his referral since I hadn't heard anything in so long and found out it never went thru. Grrr... So I called myself and was told a scheduler will call me in 24 hours and then there is a 4 month wait. In His time....