Worry came to visit me the other night around 1am, when I was trying my best to fall asleep. The beast took the form of high school. "Where would I send Connor to high school?" sent my mind racing furiously in circles. Never mind that Connor is in the second grade and I have a few years before that decision needs to be made. The beast had taken over and sleep eluded me for some time that night. It took quite an effort to stop that beast.
I woke up shortly after to the dog throwing up all over the house. Later that day I received a text from my husband that Connor had pulled the fire alarm at school. Of course, everyone at the school thought it was a real fire, and the fire department responded accordingly. Connor's teacher asked if the Chief would speak to Connor about the importance of NOT pulling the fire alarm. As the Chief was kindly trying to explain this to Connor, Connor was more interested in his red pen!
I have sent information to both our local police and fire departments about the free autism training for first responders each year at the Autism One Conference. Children and adults with autism may act differently than the neurotypical person, and confusion in the past has brought tragic consequences for people on the spectrum. I just assumed it would be a LONG time before Connor's first interaction with someone addressed as Chief!
See, the point is, had I known the night before when the worry beast invaded my mind that I SHOULD worry about false fire alarms instead of high school choices, I could have had a conversation with Connor in the morning. I would have told him NOT to touch a fire alarm even though it is fire prevention week and the alarm does have PULL written clearly on it! And I could have gotten more sleep too. The dog probably would still have thrown up though.
