A few days ago I wrote about our impeding visit to the dentist with my autistic son.  I am happy to report he tolerated the sedation and dental work very well.  No parent is ok with having their child sedated or under anesthesia.  Unfortunately this was our only option to do some necessary dental work on our son.  I was worried about all the normal things you worry about but then it was amplified to whole new level because I had no idea how he would react.  The doctors prepared me for the “devil” child to emerge when he started to wake up.  “Oh great…….”  I am pleased to say all he did was act like he was waking up from a super duper nap.  No bad behavior, aggressive acts, screaming (the girl before him did plenty of that), or crying.  He simply took his own “sweet” time waking up.  I actually was able to breathe some relief when the doctor said he is good, you are welcome to go home anytime.  Later in the afternoon at home, he asked if he was ever going to have to wear that awful “gas” mask again.  I smiled and nicely stated “As long as you do a wonderful outstanding job brushing your teeth twice a day, you will probably never wear the gas mask again”.  It seems this is the motivation he needed to do a better job of brushing.  Another hurdle was cleared today………. what will the next one be??

Our son Joey who was diagnosed with autism at age 3