When Maddox was a baby I had high aspirations for his future. He hit his milestones early and was very obviously gifted, a trait I assumed was to blame for any weirdness I saw in him. As he got older I fell onto the bandwagon that most parents did: autism. I was sure he had mild autism and some therapy would help him along. While he does have severe sensory processing disorder, he is not autistic. (Remember those early milestones? Who knew they caused severe issues?) I did try to help him by giving him a rich sensory diet, buying clothes that didn't bother him, and catering to his preferences for food but none of it was very helpful. He still cried for hours and slept little.
I lived with my grandparents until he was 2, when we moved out on our own. He was very unhappy with this move and didn't see my grandparents for several months which was their choice because they were punishing me for being gay. What they didn't realize is that I honestly didn't care but Maddox did. Between that loss and starting daycare, Maddox fell apart very rapidly. In the two year old room he was known for his severe biting, smacking, and other violence. He was the tiniest kid in the room at only 20 lbs but he was feared by the other children. He had a wonderful teacher who helped him tremendously and she is the reason he didn't get asked to leave that care center for a whole year.
I remember thinking he would get better as he got older. I had no idea how wrong I was.
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