Running through Water

O is for Obstinate

All kids can be defiant. All kids can be persistent. Most can be both at one time or another…..however the persistence of a person with Autism is far outside typical willfulness of even the most obstinate of kiddos. Most of this stems from intense need for familiarity, order and sameness of routine. This rigidity is part of the diagnostic criteria of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Sometimes I have no idea what will trigger A2 into a 3 hour long battle of wills. What can be a 5 minute routine one day can take 2 hours the next even when he knows that routine ends in something he enjoys. A1…no matter how much punishment, berating or time outs he got, he would get right back up and do the same thing over again. For weeks. I used to joke about how even a dog can learn to salivate…