Apologies to everyone for not responding any sooner but we have spent the best part of the last day trying just to get a grip on the situation. We have always been able to manage one way or another, over the years, though sometimes I am not quite sure just how, but not being effectively able to communicate to my son what is really happening (and definitely not its significance or meaning) is particularly poignant just now. My son barely identifies even a mood or tone and appears to relate only in immediate terms and to what he can or cannot have or do at the time, which is usually food or drink related).
I am thinking of you, Adrian and Sally. Like your daughter, he loves being on the move - car, bus, train, ferry, plane – and the most he seems to be picking up so far now is that, for a change, we are not talking about or doing any of these at the moment. He usually sleeps very well, but sometimes can tear up and down around the house moving things around through the night, which is quite difficult to deal with.
We have been used to going out and about during the daytime, but it can be hard work as he is often very, very noisy, sometimes plays with his saliva (not good at the best of times, but certainly not worth risking the reaction to this now), and likes to grab things from people as we pass by. We have to be particularly careful if they are eating or drinking. I have decided that we cannot safely go out for the time being, unless maybe a quick trip in the car.
The real worry at the moment is the contingency planning, which both Phil and Christine have touched on. I know, Phil, that we will get no help from the local authority, so we need to formulate a specific plan along the lines which you, Christine, outlined. We have to accept that if any one of us is infected then we are all going to be infected because it is impossible to separate out completely. The main eventuality to have covered in advance, therefore, is if both I and my partner are ill and out of action at the same time, then how do we manage an ill (or potentially ill) son? We suppose that we simply have to get on with it. A dysfunctional household even more shambolic.
Which brings me to the hospital issue discussed by Andy. The fact is that my son can be so chaotic that unless he were immobilised by illness or sedation he probably could not be kept in a bed or a room, we would not be able or allowed to stay with him, and almost certainly he would not be admitted.
All these are of course issues which have been floating around for years, like trying for the best part of twenty years to get his teeth looked at. Ironically, we have at long last been given an appointment for this to be done under general anaesthetic in hospital on May Day, and this of course will now be cancelled.
We normally have a great deal of fun and we are confident that with a bit of organisation we can get back to that. Thank you, Christine, for specifying your website - I am sure I accessed it years ago, but it has escaped me in the meantime – and it is a great help getting me motivated again.
Best wishes
Duncan