Warning: Dangers of IHS Addiction
There needs to be a Public Service Message Warning of the Dangers of IHS Addiction
My name is eDee and I think I may be addicted to IHS.
I can’t say I wasn’t warned.
The other mommys on the playground told me once I started using it I’d wouldn’t know how I ever lived without it.
And you can tell by the state of my house I didn’t have IHS today. I haven’t had IHS since Thursday and I’m going through serious withdrawal.
Nothing is done, the clean laundry is stacked up to the ceiling, the house looks like a bomb tore through it.
It started so innocently, a couple afternoons a week, I thought I could handle it. Then I started using on the weekends and before I knew it I was in deep – 5 or 6 times a week.
I mean it’s safe, others have been using it for years.
Now I’m sitting in my kitchen with one eye twitching wondering when I’m going to get my next hit.
HOW DID I EVER LIVE WITHOUT IN HOME SUPPORT!!!!
In case you haven’t caught on In Home Support is a service for parents with Autistic child [among other things]
It’s not free, but it is covered under most insurance plans and we pay for MaineCare in order to have this service. IHS comes in several times a week to work with my Autistic daughter and while they are doing therapy I am free to sweep the floor, clean the bathroom, paint the bedroom, go grocery shopping – TAKE A BATH! USE THE TOILET! All the things which are nearly impossible to do when someone isn’t here to watch my daughter. Because as soon as eye are not on my daughter she’s in the fridge, climbing the cabinets, and escaping from the house.
Again, it’s not free, we pay for this service and it is addicting. Think about not being able to go to the bathroom unless you brought your 6 year old with you. Or not being able to take a shower unless you locked your child in her room. That’s pretty much my life 24/7 so you can see the attraction. Someday I hope to have a table clothe again and maybe keep a napkin holder in the center of the table, but for now those are just dreams.
This is great information for those parts who have a special needs child. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and love for IHS.
Just wanted to add… if you can’t afford professional IHS, don’t be afraid to ask for help. When I was 18 I finished my required volunteer hours to graduate high school by helping a mom with a special needs child. I didn’t have the training to do therapy of any sort, but I knew enough to follow the mom’s instructions and keep her child out of trouble. So I went over for a “play date” two or three times a week, and while we were playing outside or in the pool (I was a lifeguard) or watching a movie together, she had time to do whatever she wanted.
I got pretty busy after high school and ended up moving away for college and staying away after finding a husband at said college, but we still mail each other letters and drawings and photos and I make a point of stopping by her place whenever I go to visit my parents.