The Old, The New and the WTF?

So where do I start?
The old... we are potty training again which has been going pretty good over the past week. We haven't had any accidents and I haven't been using the reward system. I don't like doing that with the bean just because he become dependent on it and I have to break that habit as well. Which in turn drives me half outta my mind. My goal for him is to be trained by Christmas. If we make it that will be his Christmas gift to me. I just want to see him succeed at the training. He's 5 now and if he has to wear pull ups at night I can live with that. It's just having to change him when we are out in public and I don't want him to start school next year in a pull up. He has a hard enough road with ASD he doesn't need to be the kid in the diaper too.

The New... Today we went for a walk and it's pretty windy out so The Bean was in his winter coat and boots. As soon as we came through the door he took off his coat, boots and socks. I was in the kitchen getting lunch ready and the next thing I know he has all of his clothes off and is wiggling outta the pull up. He brought it to me and I threw it away, but I had to con him into putting on some under wear. That has been the big fight with him lately to put the underwear on. Thankfully I had his favorite snack in the house and he really wanted it so on went the underwear. 5 hours later they are still on.

The WTF?... We have one of the strangest behaviors yet to deal with now. When The Bean watches a program for the first time it's no problem at all but the second and third he knows where the parts of the movie are that he doesn't like so he puts his hands over his ears and hums so he doesn't have to hear them. I have been putting them on mute just to see if he notices or not. Sometime he does and others no. I don't know what to do with this at all and the helpful "team" of people that we have doesn't either. I just wish that someone could tell me what to do and it would work with him. But because all kids are different we have to just keep trying.

This also fall under the we can't go to the grocery store, walmart or any other place where there will be a large amount of children or I will be dealing with a full on melt down which leaves me so frazzled that I forget what I'm there for. When he hears another child yell he meltsdown and that even happens with his playgroup. Twice a week he will scream and be upset for 2 hours, I can't do anything to help because I'm on the other side of the 2 way mirror and I have to watch while the "professionals" work with my child.

It hurts like hell that I can't make this better for him and I can't protect him from the one thing that makes him hurt the most.

It breaks my heart knowing that for the rest of his life things are going to be so hard for him. Our Normal isn't the same as others and when The Bean is with me and so is my mum and he starts with the meltdown she trys to reason with him. It doesn't work, you really would be better off talking to the wall but she tries.

My life is crazy, and stressful but any one with kids knows what I'm talking about.