It starts some time between 5 and 6pm.  The giggles.  Just little giggles at first.  It may start when he tries to catch your eye – daring you to look at him.  Then as soon as you do – often quite by accident – you’ve started his “game”.  I’m not really quite sure what it is that has caught his imagination and set him off into hysterics when just moments ago he was looking quite grumpy.  But any negative emotions he may have been feeling have completely evaporated, and on cue he (my son) has been taken over by giggles.

It sounds quite cute I guess.  Giggles are funny, and can be very catchy – often when someone else smiles or giggles it is infectious, and you find yourself joining in without even realising it.  But our 13-year-old’s giggles are LOUD.  They are giggles interjected with high-pitched squeals and yells.  They are giggles that can’t be spoken over or ignored or lived around.  And lately they can last from 5.30 through til 9pm.  I’m not sure what’s happening in his head, I’m not sure that he is really in control.  When he spins things the giggling intensifies, so I take the spinning things off him.  Sometimes cuddling him for about an hour calms him, but then sometimes that makes him even more giggly.  We try ignoring him, sitting with him, watching one of his favourite DVDs with him, even just sending him to bed early – all with limited success.

By the time he does nod off, we are exhausted.  True, it has been happy sounds, so I guess we shouldn’t be complaining.  I know that some parents of kids with special needs have to put up with screams of discomfort or anguish – and I don’t know how they cope.  Parents of “normal” teenagers may say, “well, our kid’s loud too….it’s a teenage thing.”  Well, that’s helpful (not).  We find it exhausting, because this loudness has been happening evening after evening after evening, just at the time of the day when you feel like sitting down and relaxing.  Our energy is sapped.

Today I went to the pharmacy.  Today I got some vallergan.  Tonight I gave it to my son.  Guess what?  It worked!!  He still had a bit of a giggly patch, but quieter, tireder giggles.  Then, when I put him to bed (a place where he usually gets even louder) I closed his door and heard NOTHING.  SILENCE.

Now, it would be a totally happy ending (and hopefully it still will be) except that our neighbours (who have never had a party before) and who happen to live on our son’s bedroom side of the house, are having a party tonight.  Fingers crossed…

Anyway, tonight I’m blogging, because of the silence, because of the space, because I have the energy to.  Thank goodness for vallergan!!!