Dear Noah: Aunt Angela's Halloween Party 2006

wow.....have you been excited about THIS event. Needless to say you had a very difficult time. If nothing else my family I guess got to see more of how you CAN be at times when you get over-stimulated. You got very upset about many simple things yesterday including some music someone had turned on in the kitchen/dining room area while we were going to eat. You covered your ears and started crying and crying saying you could not have that music on. I asked you if it scared you (as it was Halloween spooky-type music) and you said "yes.....and it is mean.....it is ugly!" and proceeded to cry and cry. FINALLY thank goodness Angela told them to turn it off. I think your cousin Audrey found all of this a bit amusing how it scared you as she liked it a lot.....and I think they were all a bit shocked how you acted. One advantage of this happening from time to time is the fact that they are slowly I THINK getting more used to it and realizing you are different and do have "issues" from time to time that will be blatantly obviously different from the "norm" ...whatever that may be. Dad kept asking what I had fed you prior ....."chocolate?", "candy?"......and mom just kept saying in a low voice "this is how he can get when he gets too excited". Grandma just sat there eating and such as is more used to it than anyone I suppose since we lived there with her for a few months when we got here to Ohio....though in smaller group settings and a more non-changing environment (like not at a party)......you do very well and are pretty quiet and pretty much able to sit for a period of time. Yesterday you were literally bouncing off the walls, the floor, the furniture at times.....had a difficult time sitting still....a more difficult time adjusting to different things though you were able to recover in a few minutes from most things. You seemed to cry about something about every 15 minutes or so.....not being able to sit on a cardtable chair as it was too cold as it was metal and you had to sit on a wooden chair. Wanting to ONLY sit at the end of the table. Being upset cause your aunt Melissa did not sit beside you so you could give her hugs and kisses during the meal. Wanting to spin in aunt Angela's office chair and knocking over her big jug of soda. It seemed endless and you became more exhausted by each thing that happened. BY the time we left you were almost a walking zombie...in the car this became more obvious.......and I imagine it will take you a few days to recover.

This is the time of year you start to have more problems I have noticed in the past few years......with handling things. I am not sure if it is a change in the seasons and movement into the HOLIDAYS that does it or what....but you have reacted this way every year for about 4-5 years now. Well.....your entire life really....as you did things even when you were only a year or two old.

You of course had to be a traffic light for your costume. You came up with the idea.....and painted it....etc. Here are some pictures from the party: