I don’t know about you, but even though I’m a pretty positive person, I have to admit that sometimes the “pressure” really gets to me.

Raising children is pressure-filled business. Raising children with special needs makes life feel like a pressure-cooker some days. There’s so much to worry about…money, therapy, school, socialization, special foods, chemicals, extracurricular activities, the future…the worries really are limitless.

Lately when I’m not worrying about money (which is most days), I’m worried about which therapy, treatment or intervention comes next. Recently we’ve taken a break from some of Ethan’s therapies to try to recuperate a little financially. While I know it is what needed to happen, it also makes me anxious because I feel the pressure to provide every therapy/treatment/intervention that I feel could be an important piece of Ethan’s puzzle. I find it difficult to determine where to “draw the line” sometimes. I know that we can't afford everything, but I also don't want to deprive Ethan of something that could benefit him greatly.

We are truly blessed by all of the progress that Ethan has made in the therapies and treatments we’ve judiciously selected thus far. Truly blessed. He is doing tremendously well and amazes us on a daily basis. So I am working very hard to push myself to find ways to de-stress and decrease the pressure. This brings me back to the vow I made at the beginning of the year about Finding a Healthy Balance. I need to breathe more, exercise/stretch more and make sure to meet my personal needs for down time…this I know!

So, while I greet this new week with some anxiety, primarily over balancing our family’s finances with meeting Ethan’s therapy/treatment/intervention needs, I’m recommitted to finding a healthy balance.

Breathe.

Exercise and stretch.

Allow for some guilt-free downtime!

How do YOU balance your pressure-cooked life raising a child with ASD? I’m all ears (or eyes as it may be) and would love to read some of your tried-and-true strategies!

♥

Leigh Attaway Wilcox is a writer and editor for the projectLD family of companies. Leigh is Assistant Editor of the internationally acclaimed AutismSpot.com and her work can be found on many of the pLDNetworks sites. Leigh is the author of ALL BETTER: A Touch-and-Heal Book published by Piggy Toes Press in 2007. Leigh lives in North Texas with her husband and young son who loves reading, LEGOs, Mario Bros. and also happens to live with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.