In November, it will be exactly 2 years Josiah has been wearing a helmet for self-protection. TWO YEARS!

We were given a padded helmet at Texas Children’s Hospital September, 2017 and assured Josiah’s raging outbursts were not a result of constipation but most likely related to a teenager with Autism who needs additional psychiatric medication.

At the time I shuddered to imagine my son in such distress he needed protection from himself.  I couldn’t envision a life in which he would need a helmet for difficult moments.

Little did I realize then, Josiah would need to wear it most all the time, not just during difficult moments.  Little did I realize then, the helmet they provided at the hospital wouldn’t suffice.  Josiah would need something sturdier.  He would need something to cover his ears.  He would need something to shield his face and his eyes.  Little did I realize then, Josiah would be wearing a helmet for a very long time.

He even sleeps in it.

No one prepares you for the twists and turns; for all the hazardous bumps along this Autism path.  Maybe that’s a blessing.  Maybe the warning signs are there all along but as a way of self preservation we ignore them thinking it could never happen in our home.

Josiah’s sensory needs have been all encompassing these past few years.  There were months he insisted on ‘wearing’ a 20 lb weighted blanket everywhere he went.  There were months he wore 8 lb. weighted straps around each wrist to slow down punches to his face so we had time to try to block the blows.  There were months he lived in a compression tube, even bathed in it.  We ordered extra so he could wear them round the clock.  He wore gel padded gloves to protect his knuckles from impact due to intense punching.  Other times he wore mittens to protect himself and others.  Most recently he wore boxer shorts with thick pads built into the sides after developing a hematoma on his right hip from aggressive punching.

When he was much younger Josiah was a head banger.  Since he doesn’t talk I’m only guessing here, but it seemed he preferred the hardest surfaces possible to slam his head upon.

Over the years since about the age of 6, Josiah has scratched, kicked, punched, pulled hair, knocked us to the ground, jumped on top of us in all out attack mode, broken more things than we could possibly ever count and injured himself so aggressively it’s difficult to fathom.

He’s 17 now and we are still on a roll.  Fortunately, he no longer totes around a weighted blanket.  We were able to transition to a fleece blanket, then a lightweight sheet and eventually down to nothing.

He no longer wears a compression tube, except in moments of great distress. The 8 lb weights are gone. The padded gloves and mittens are put away as well.

I’d call that PROGRESS!

The one remaining sensory item Josiah clings to is his helmet.  It’s a hard shell helmet with a padded foam liner, complete with full face mask.  Josiah could play any contact sport in that thing and come away unscathed.

As you can imagine, underneath that helmet it gets sweaty and grimy and dirty, especially in our Texas heat.  His hair is growing really long.  We used to try to keep it clipped as short as possible.  The other day I noticed some curls around his face.  Who knew long hair on Josiah would result in a natural wave?

Getting the helmet OFF Josiah for showers is virtually impossible, yet some of his amazing caregivers have ventured there and succeeded.  He doesn’t enjoy the process and often times shrieks through the hair washing and blow drying process anxious to get the helmet back on his head.

There have been times this past year when Josiah has gone for hours at a time with a different helmet on, one without a face mask and other times he’s had no helmet at all.  Those are brief moments and few and far between.

Just when it felt as if we were making progress towards decreasing helmet use, Josiah plummeted into a very difficult time and we had to take major steps backward and allow the helmet 24/7 again.

So here’s where you come in.  What do you think?  Any great wisdom about how to wean Josiah from his helmet?  I’m not looking for an overnight transition here.  Just wondering if someone has been down this road before and found a solution that worked for them.

Here’s the other thing.  Currently, without his helmet, Josiah punches his face.  He’s been less self injurious recently but the ‘fear’ is always there.  Left unprotected he could cause serious injury or even shatter the permanent lens implant on his left eye and blind himself.

If Josiah needs the deep pressure of a helmet for some reason we don’t understand, that information would be helpful as well.  I definitely don’t want to cause distress by trying to eliminate something he NEEDS.

I’m fine actually if he wears it for many more years.

Just wondering if we are overlooking something and one of you HAS the answer!  I’d love to hear your ideas.

Guess you could say…

I’m all ears!