Emails and flying furniture

My son despises the sounds fellow humans make, like coughing, sneezing, clearing the throat, sniffling, nose blowing, and hiccups. All of these are behavior triggers, namely in the classroom. At home, once stepdad (a.k.a. the Big Bad Wolf, a.k.a. the disciplinarian) is present, it is rare that a violent behavior will surface. At school, though, if someone coughs, furniture gets overturned and flung like a poltergeist. Only, it's not a poltergeist; it's my boy. I don't know what it is about coughing that pisses him off so badly, but when your throat tickles and you feel a cough coming on, you better hope we're not in the vicinity.

I'll switch for a sec to some more positive news. His awesome teacher has been showing him how to use email, so a few times a week he'll send me an email from his very own account at school. An email to most people isn't a thrilling thing, but when my autistic son whose behaviors normally overshadow his talents sends me an email (something totally new to him), it's like I'm Katniss Everdeen and that email is one of those sponsor balloons cascading toward me from the sky with a speck of hope inside. I notice the font color he uses, the way he spaces out all his words, and his random (often hilarious) thoughts.

The very first email he sent me. *Heart flutters*

Now getting back to the coughing thing.

His teacher is outstanding about daily communication. I never have to wonder what he does on a daily basis, if there are incidents, or whether or not he had a great day. If he hears coughing or other such noises, sometimes he throws stuff. They move other students out of harm's range and take him into a quiet area for a break or sometimes outside for a walk.

For months, the teacher and I have been pondering how to get a grip on this situation. And the other day when I was in the kitchen about the use the blender, it hit me. Every time I vacuum or use a loud appliance, I tell him to plug his ears and he does so without hesitation. So now, every time we're around coughing, or I am about to cough, I tell him to plug his ears. This might not work every time because coughing is most often random and unpredictable, but it's worth a shot. The point is that plugging the ears will help solve two problems: 1) it will muffle the annoying sound, and 2) it will keep his hands occupied to distract him from grabbing and throwing.

Teacher used this method on him while the class was at IHOP on a school outing. A lady nearby was coughing, and teacher noticed he was getting agitated. She told him to plug his ears, and it alleviated the situation. Happy news! And then another day ... she tried it in the classroom, and he decided that throwing a desk was better than ear plugging, as you can see in his email below. He tells on himself while being the dedicated foodie that he is.

I love his brain so very much. Hope is never lost. We'll keep at it and see how our new method works out.