cue.......the other shoe........

I'm forever fascinated by the human instinct for craving order.

It is so soothing to discover the things in life that are constant and unchangeable.
You can anticipate an outcome and depend on the result and plan your life accordingly.

From the beginning of our journey with autism it has been a never ending challenge to find any version of "normal" or "typical" or "constant".

I think the only constant you find is that you are constantly off balance. You learn to be at peace with the crazy and accept unusual circumstances as a permanent part of every day life.

And to be honest...sometimes you get very VERY tired of the crazy.

Today we got handed another curve ball. So we are again....off balance.

Ty's placement is off the table, for now.

There has been a new development at our regional center. Since all the lovely budget cuts, they have been inventing more hoops for people to jump through. Understandable, but it is cumbersome for people like me who have already had many trips to the rodeo.

I now have to be subjected to a parent evaluation to determine my skill level and "problem solve" Ty's behavioral issues at home. They will help me to shape his behavior so that he can continue to live at home.

There is also a MANDATORY six week parenting class that I will be attending to help me better understand the principles of behavior management that these consultants will be showing me.

All of this is designed to exhaust every resource and prove that we are at the end of the rope.

Of course, there is the off chance that these consultants will be smitten with my encyclopedic knowledge of behavioral techniques and write a report to that effect. We can pass that info along to the powers that be and they will be satisfied and rubber stamp the placement.

Or, and more likely, they will juice their contract for the full SIX months.

I am standing on one leg and holding my breath.