It was supposed to be a smooth morning. I had laminated visuals, a color-coded schedule, and even prepped Uriah's favorite breakfast — banana pancakes with extra syrup. The kitchen was set up perfectly, a small victory in our daily routine. But by 8:03 a.m., the syrup was on the wall, the schedule was torn in half, and I was sitting on the floor with a sobbing toddler who couldn’t tell me why the world felt so wrong.

The sensory overload hit like a tidal wave. The bright kitchen lights, the sticky syrup, the torn paper — all of it overwhelmed him in a way I hadn’t anticipated. His cries echoed through the house, raw and desperate. I felt helpless, caught between wanting to fix the moment and knowing that sometimes, there is no quick fix. As all mom's know, when its your chilc crying, its not like any other kids cry, Your body senses that its your child crying and your maternal instincts kick in to figure out why they are crying and fill the need as quickly as possible. One way our bodies do this is by increasing stress and anixety in the body and the sound of the crying and screaming makes me go about crazy in these moments.

That was the day I learned that even the best-laid plans can crumble under the weight of sensory overload and emotional dysregulation. And it wasn’t my fault. It wasn’t his fault. It was just reality. Both of us together in dysregulation and the cost is biologically expensive and we both pay the price after one of these fits of rage, but this is just one momement with a day full of other moments that unfortunately end up a lot like this. Even with my knowledge of ABA and Autism I am just as lost  as the next person alot of the times.

I used to think ABA  was about fixing behavior. Now I know it’s about understanding Autism Symptoms  and stop trying to fix it everything .  That morning, instead of pushing the schedule, I followed his lead. We built a fort out of couch cushions and sat inside it until the world felt safe again. The softness of the cushions, the quiet of our little hideaway, gave him a space to breathe and reset. And after he fell alseep in our fort, I climbed out realizing I think I needed that reset too.  

I NEED MORE Coffee!!!!!! 

That was our therapy session. That was our win.

Until next time, Stay strong, and Embrace the Chaos. Learn from it.

Shannon Williams