Lock down drills continue at the Stewart house

So sometimes I have to find humor in this disorder that Nick has because I just can't be frustrated about it all the time.  Children with FASD tend to obsess over things, events, or people at times.  Some of the most common obsessions are with objects, such as batteries, flashlights, paper, and locks.  All of which Nick has an obsession with.  These kiddos can also obsess about events that occurred to them as well.  I have to share the most recent one, just to give you a peek into what this looks like for us (and may be helpful for others to understand Nick).

So, I went to pick up Nick today at school and ran into the special education coordinator and one of the teachers at school (Mrs. Dallas).  Mrs. Dallas mentioned that Nick was so good during the Lock Down drill, despite the 5th graders and he came up afterwards and said that he would shoot the guy if he came and other comments.  "Lock Down Drill?!"  I looked at Mrs. Barbee, the special education coordinator and said, "You know what this means?  We will be reliving this for the next four to five days!"  She said, "I was wondering that."

Well, we got in the car to leave and I started to hesitate about asking about his day, knowing exactly what our conversation was going to be about..forget the History test he took today, because today was a lock down drill!!  I truly doubt Nick paid attention much after that drill, either.... Nick proceeded to tell me every single detail of this drill...let me remind you that this child can't remember what he learned in any of his classes, let alone most of his teachers' names... He described where they were in the building, what the room looked like, and what people were doing during the drill.  He then went on to describe everything the "intruder" did to try and get in....wait, not only did he describe it, he had to demonstrate it on my back seat of my car!  He told me that Mr. Horton was the intruder and was yelling to let him in the room, but we weren't allowed to let him in because he could hurt them if he was really an intruder!

After his description and reenactment of today's drill was done at least 5 times, and also done with different scenarios, voices, weapons, and so on, he then began the "what if" portion of his obsession.  Oh dear...this is the portion that nearly throws me into a tailspin, but I prepared myself for this, so I kept calm... Let me give you a sampling of his "what if " questions.  Remember this is only a sampling and went on for the 35 minute drive to his gym!
"What if the intruder climbed through the window, instead?"
"What if the intruder shot through the door or the glass in the door?"
"What if he decided to set the building on fire, how would we get out?"
"What if knows where we are hiding?  Would he just stay there all day?"
"What if I just have a gun with me and I just barge out and shoot him so everyone can get away?"
And this went on and on and on....and will continue to go on through the weekend....

We then come to the portion, where he comes up with things that should have been different.  Let me warn you, Mr. Horton, Nick might hunt you down tomorrow, to tell you what his concerns are and what he thinks should be done differently to keep everyone safer!  He told me, "mom, I need to have a conversation with Mr. Horton tomorrow."  "Why?" I ask.  "Well, there is this gap under the door and the intruder can get a gun under there and start shooting.  They really need to fix that."  My response?  "Well, Nick, good luck with that, but I"m sure that the police would have everything all figured out and those teachers are going to do everything in their power to protect you."  Nick's response,"Well, what if (ahhh, what if again!?) the teacher can't protect us?"

Do you get my point?  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?  So, if my hair seems a little frayed and I don't seem to be listening, perhaps it's because I'm still trying to filter what I should listen to and what I should ignore, because I"m going to be hearing a lot about lock down drills!  Also, if you are interested in knowing what a lock down drill is and what is should look like, I will have Nick give you a call.