Anxiety

Bil, like many people with autism, suffers a lot from anxiety.

If you take him on a trip to, for example the mall, he immediate becomes anxious if you don't take the regular route.

If he asks you to take him to the mall he is fine.  If, after the mall, you decide to go somewhere else (rather than just not straight home) he becomes anxious.

Bil lloves the Weather Channel.

He hates the actual weather.

Bil is very frightened of thunderstorms, as I've blogged about before.  He's frightened even of rain; I remember one time he was supposed to come up here when a family member had been in a car accident and he was so anxious because it was raining that my mother in law had to make arrangements so he wouldn't have to come the 150 miles.

He will stay in a motel room but he has to have his own "room" ie. he like in a suite.

His brother has a lake cottage.  He is very anxious about staying there, I think because he can't have his own room. (not enough space)

With all the changes to come in his life in the future, I can worry about his anxiety.  It is going to affect all of our lives one day.

He always wants to know exactly when we are visiting next (even to asking as soon as we get in the door) and if he can't tell him, he becomes a little anxious about that.

I didn't know Bil as a young child so I hope  the anxiety has gotten a lot better.  But it definitely impacts his life-a lot.

We had hoped to get him something called 'reshab' services to help train him into ways to deal with anxiety, but with budget cuts it isn't going to happen.