The monkey has started to have an issue with clothes. He used to not care how I dressed him. But lately, he gets so frustrated that he can’t communicate to us his needs. We try to understand what he wants. My husband will ask him, is it the color? Do you want a blue or red shirt? The style? Long sleeve? Short sleeve? The texture? Cotton? Denim? Khakis?

Drawers. The monkey will empty all his drawers, throws his clothes on the floor, as he is desperately looking for something in particular. And most of the time we can’t find whatever it is. 😪

Socks. Socks have been a terror. He wants different socks than the one that I put on him. He found old socks, that are much smaller and don’t fit him. And he is determined to use the smaller socks. He will try to put his socks on his sister’s feet. She tells him they don’t fit but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want her without socks. If she wears her own, he takes them off to put the ones he wants.

Shoes. He also is determined to use shoes all the time. Even while sleeping. We take them off when he’s in bed and he wakes up in the middle of the night to get his tennis. He’s half asleep trying to put them on.

Showers. He used to love showers. Now, he starts crying. And it gets worse when he’s done. He runs to his dresser to start the stressful selection process of pajamas.

Mornings. Our goal is to have him be in a good mood as he gets on the bus, we don’t want him to have a meltdown.

So, what have I done?

I change him before he wakes up. I will put on his school pants and shirt while he’s sleeping and while it’s dark. By the time he wakes up, all we do is brush his teeth and give him a quick rundown with baby wipes. And since he showers at night, we don’t have to worry about showering in the morning.

It seems that as we fix one problem, another one comes up.

And that’s the thing about autism. You never know what challenges will come. And being nonverbal, it makes this process that much harder.

I received a message yesterday from his teacher. She thinks he wants green shirts since he likes the green tile and prefers the green balls.

We all are part of this guessing game, trying to understand.

I don’t know what is going on in that beautiful head of yours my monkey, but we will figure it out together. ❤️💙