Today Nathan had another biting tantrum. I am reminded of how his tantrums used to be like. Before, I was always puzzled at what tiny things might have caused Nathan’s frequent tantrums (crying, not necessarily with biting). A lot of times Nathan could cry for up to 30mins. When traveling, he can even cry for 4 straight hours. Many times I couldn’t figure out why he cried and it was easy to give up on soothing him. How could I help my child if I didn’t know what was making him cry? At a certain point, I gave up all together…Nathan is autistic…he cries for no reason. I guess that attitude made things worse. Sure enough, Nathan’s tantrum progressed in frequency, length and intensity. Later on he learned to bite me or himself as a result of his mounting frustration.

Today, as I start on Nathan’s Son-Rise journey, I have decided that Nathan’s tantrums, whether or not I know the cause, can easily be stopped. Today, I wanted Nathan to leave Tita Lisa’s house happy and not have to pull him out because he had a tantrum. It must have taken me only 5 minutes to help him stop.

As I reflect on all this, I realize the power of believing.

Only 6 months ago, my husband always had to take Nathan out of church for almost the whole mass simply because Nathan had I-don’t-want-to-stay-and-wait tantrums. Recently, I keep Nathan at the back, rock him a little to sooth his temper. Then towards the end of mass we even manage to sit in front so Nathan can enjoy the choir.

It does not seem much from day to day but in time big improvements come. Just believe they will.