Just one of those mornings today – I got back late last night from curling, and so it figures that the Monster would wake me up at 5 AM.

In his defense, I don’t know why he was awake.  I don’t know if it was a matter of a bad dream, or just being bored, or whatnot, but I woke up to him screaming, and decided to intervene before he either woke his brother or his mother.

So, after getting him downstairs (thank you, half-soundproofed media room!) and in front of the television, we got off to a rocky, if early, start to our day.

On a positive, though… it means also that he got through that rough part of the morning well in advance of the bus arriving.  By the time my wife got up, he was willing to follow directions and sit at the dining room table for breakfast (though it did require taking the iPad up there with us).  He cooperated with getting dressed, and even picked up his own bag to go to the bus when it arrived.  And so far, most importantly, it didn’t seem as if he were any more tired for having gotten up after only ten hours of sleep.

But it also hews with what a lot of what I’ve been reading lately – Autistic children deal better, it seems, with slower, longer morning routines.  I’m not saying that I’d really be amenable to the two-and-a-half hours for his wakeup… but I might be game to experiment with waking him, say, at 6 AM to see if the extra 45 minutes helps avoid fights, as long as we’re also starting to maneuver him towards bed a little earlier as well to make up for it…