I realize today that it has been four months since I last posted.  During that time, I could (and probably should) have written about asking people at church to redirect their thrift store clothing donations to us to try to keep up with Anthony ripping his clothes apart.  We were extremely grateful for the overwhelming response, and thought we would be set for quite some time.  Unfortunately, Anthony has picked up the ripping pace again after a lull, so supplies are thinning out much more quickly than we were hoping.

I also could (and probably should) have written about Anthony's new obsession with taking his dishes to the sink and trying to wash them.  That doesn't sound like a bad thing, but when he doesn't understand the concept and gets upset on being prevented from playing in the water for half an hour, it's not so great.  To make matters more interesting, we have also determined that we will need to put the knives away instead of letting them dry with other dishes on the counter; it's a good thing he didn't recognize their potential use as weapons when he grabbed one. 

And, I won't deny that it was likely something approaching laziness that kept me from writing about Anthony getting suspended from school for violence, my obtaining permission to work from home for a couple of days to stay with him, and then him getting another brief suspension the next week.  My wife met with his teachers to emphasize that telling Anthony, "No!" is effectively a provocation to attack.  When necessary, we do yell his name to get his attention, but then we do everything we can to push/pull/drag him away from whatever situation we deem undesirable rather than saying, "No!".  

But, after all my shirking, I really felt I had to write today.

My wife called me about an hour before I was scheduled to leave work, asking if I could leave right then.  After some discussion, I closed down my work and explained the problem to my manager, who offered to have others finish my few remaining tasks.  I didn't think that would be necessary, but I reconsidered later as I was driving.  In the interim, the policeman who had been called to the scene had gotten my number and called me directly to ask if I was coming to get Anthony.  I told him my wife had briefed me and that I was on my way.  The officer told me a medical unit had been called as well to attend to Anthony because of the contusions he was inflicting upon himself by banging his head on loose gravel.  I told him the last thing I wanted was more medical expenses with Anthony, and that, based on experience, I was certain he would not need medical attention.  I called my wife--who was closer--to try to get her there quickly to prevent anyone from working on him.  

Thankfully, when I arrived, the policeman was gone and there was no sign of a medical unit.  My wife was speaking with Anthony's school principal and staff from Anthony's service provider.  Anthony was already seated in his customary third-row seat of our sport-utility vehicle, the one we consider necessary to prevent him from reaching over and attacking the driver.  My wife traded keys with me so she could go to pick up our younger son and go to a scheduled parent-teacher conference.  

Anthony's assigned staff member (I'll call him "Kevin" to make things easier) told me that, as he was driving Anthony to the service provider after school, he had his hand on the gear shifter in his car when Anthony put his hand on top.  Kevin lifted his hand off, and Anthony tried to start pinching his hand, then punched him.  Not with a great deal of force, to be sure, but certainly with enough to be a cause for concern.  He then started banging his head against the window.  Kevin pulled to the side of the road in a rural residential area and got Anthony out of the car.  Someone driving by saw the commotion of Anthony attacking and Kevin trying to subdue him, rolled down his window, and called out, "I'm going to call the police!" Kevin said, "Why??", and the passer-by said, "Because you guys are fighting!"  Kevin tried to explain the situation, but a police officer showed up shortly thereafter nonetheless.  

According to Anthony's principal, the officer has been to Anthony's school and is familiar with special-needs kids.  However, because Anthony was unruly and looking as though he would end up in traffic as he tried to attack Kevin and the officer, the officer handcuffed Anthony and forced him to the ground.  It was some time after this that he called to tell me Anthony was banging his head into the gravel leading to a driveway.  Thankfully, my wife got there before I did.  It turns out that police backup had been requested; my wife tells me there were five or six officers there by that time. However, there was no medical unit. Hooray for that! 

So, when I got there, Anthony had already calmed down, had been released from his handcuffs, and was sitting quietly in our vehicle.  I spoke at length with his principal and service provider staff, discussing why he might have gotten upset--I am fairly certain Anthony wanted to move the gear shifter as he did in a previous instance--and other aspects of his behavior and care.  The service provider staff reaffirmed their commitment to doing whatever necessary to work with him (for which I am extremely grateful), and we said our goodbyes.  

And then I, with Anthony, went to pick up my daughter, half an hour late.