Soothing a Meltdown

Yesterday, we decided to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch and some video games because MM was insisting on it for some reason. We'd spend all day Saturday indoors because of the weather. Because of that, Gus wasn't in any particular mood to go anywhere or do anything. He was a bit resistant as we prepared to leave, and I wanted to give him some Reiki energy before getting in the car, but I got a phone call, and everyone sort of left me in the dust. Then I drove, so I couldn't really do it while driving. Hence, we got there and Gus was not a happy camper. Thankfully, the place was not crowded at all; he would have been overstimulated on top of everything else.

He wanted to do everything but what we asked: didn't want to put his jacket on, didn't want to wait until after lunch to go play in the giant slide (If he'd been allowed to do that it would have resulted in a worse situation when he needed to come down to eat - and he really needed to eat by then.), didn't even want to get his hand stamped. We selected a table and he wanted to sit in the area reserved for parties. He got a bit whiny and started to flail about under the table. I got him calm enough to negotiate another table in the unreserved section, but that only worked for about thirty seconds until he started getting agitated again.

I wasn't sure if Reiki would be possible at that point, but I tried it. I loosely put my arms around him and began sending the energy. Normally, any form of restraint would have made him more upset, but I was stunned to see that he relaxed right into my arms and accepted the energy. He calmed right down - it was truly amazing. Even DH was pleasantly surprised. Once the energy stopped, he still exhibited some mild annoyance, but he wasn't on the floor or crying. A little food, and he was right as rain. He had a great time and was in a pretty good mood for the rest of the day.

While this isn't exactly conclusive regarding the effect that Reiki is or isn't having on him, I think it's at least a positive sign.

Renewal and Reiki

Since I started writing My Autism Insights, I have found myself with less time to devote to this, my original autism blog. That's a shame because this one allows me to be more personal without the restrictions of a blog network. So I think I will make it a point to pay a little closer attention to Autism is Red and will start by tracking our progress with Reiki as a way to help Gus (diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome) focus and self-manage, especially during the school day.

I've recently received 2 Kundalini Reiki attunements from Alice at Reiki Awakening and should be receiving the third next week some time. This is not my first experience with Reiki as I have received energy treatments in the past. I decided to become a practitioner for two reasons: to help with my own depression and to help Gus with some of his challenges.

It's been difficult to get Gus to sit still for a treatment, and I find that I have a harder time sensing the energy flow if I try to do the treatment with my hands directly on him. Last night, I tried letting him sit in my lap and he was much more accepting. I also tried sending him treatments from a distance. One day I did it in the morning before school. On that day, he was reportedly on task in the morning, but a little scattered in the afternoon. Yesterday, I sent him some Reiki energy in the afternoon. The note from school was that he was unsettled in the morning, but better in the afternoon. Today, I did some Reiki when he got up and I'll do it again around midday to see what kind of day he has.

One thing I discovered from communicating with my Reiki teacher is that I had been very ungrounded, which made a light bulb go off over my head. It occurred to me that if Gus had a way to ground himself, half his school battles would be solved. One of the biggest issues he has at school is that he has trouble focusing on tasks long enough to complete them. I'm sure that bringing his energy down a little, out of his head if that makes better sense, would have to make it easier for him to get his work done.

If Gus responds well to this form of energy work, eventually I can attune him (when he's older) so that he can become aware of and manage his own energy needs. Wish us luck with it!