Day 15

Hi, continuing from my last post: we're now 15 days into this power struggle. My son still hasn't accepted instructions or consequences. Aside from one explosion, I've kept calm, but I'm feeling intense frustration and resentment. He's extremely disrespectful and out of control, demanding respect without showing it. When upset, he screams, wakes his baby brother, interrupts my husband's meetings, leaves baby gates open on purpose, and refuses to do his school work. It has gotten so bad that we have had to cancel family outings; he usually behaves well when we are out in public. He consistently works on his Bible Bee memory verses and reads books but refuses to do anything else. He will not go to bed when asked and power struggles over the simplest requests. Getting him to change his shirt, or any instruction could end up taking hours. My question: what can you tell me about autism and how do I handle this with true calmness. Friends and family who have witness our struggles differ in opinion, my MIL says I’m too militaristic and have too many unrealistic expectations of an 8 year old. Some say that I am a saint because they would be shouting by now while I remain calm. I want to be a true calm and actually be able to say I love you when giving consequences. Why was he well-behaved before but since June, he's been out of control? I say well behave, but I mean it in comparison to total disrespect, and disregard for authority. I tried your suggestion with diet changes and we did find a few food allergies that could contribute but it’s not a major factor. Every morning he is saying that he wants to throw up the past month, and Doctors have asked him to do a cleanse which he refuses to do. I honestly don’t know what to do and how to help and I just feel like a captive to his emotional disorders.