My Child is an Orchid

One thing that I have come to understand about JC is that there are good days and bad days. But why?  Why are some days better than others? When everything is seemingly the same, why do activities on some days elicit much more volatile reactions?
Then it hit me... My child is like an Orchid!

Orchids are beautiful, highly sought after flowers, but are very temperamental and difficult to grow.  But not just that... There are over 30,000 orchid varieties that all thrive under varying conditions.  Each must have a specific temperature, specific humidity, specific soil blends, water levels, and some prefer to be housed in a glass dome. If these conditions are met, the orchid blooms into a beautiful flower. But if these conditions are not met, the orchid will wilt and die.

JC is my orchid. On a good day, when all of his optimal conditions are met.... When there is a perfect amount of sensory stimulation (but not too much!), when there is an expected routine that is adhered to, when there are no surprises and all is calm, when HE gets to "call the shots"... He is a wonderfully expressive child who loves attention and experiences life full force.

But on those days where the optimal conditions are NOT met... JC is a different little boy.  The slightest change can cause outburst, tantrums and meltdowns.  Busy environments lead to overstimulation and Overstimulation leads to complete shutdown.  Communication is difficult even on the good days, but on the bad days... Communication is non-existent so screaming, pushing and hitting are all commonplace.   Everything is too much for him to handle.   I struggle to understand why. Which condition is not being met?  Is it because our schedule changed, because he isn't getting enough "regulation" from sensory play, or because the weather changed?  Most times I never know. I just hope that whatever it is passes.

My job as Mommy is to also be the "florist". I try to maintain those optimal conditions to maximize the good days.  I love the days when my little orchid blooms.  So I try even harder on the bad days to level out the conditions and minimize the impact, and hope that the bloom comes back again.