It’s been a few days since I’ve written. Things are getting rough here in The Autism Dad household and I’d be lying if I told you I was doing fine, because I’m not. Not at all.
The kids are absolutely overwhelmed, anxious, overstimulated, angry, frustrated and fucking terrified. They’re absolutely terrified and it’s not easy to reassure them because they’re too smart. They know how bad this is and while I constantly reinforce that we’re safe because we’re socially isolating, they aren’t feeling better about it.
I’m not trying to be all doom and gloom but this shit is crazy. This is about as serious as it gets and I can look out my window throughout the day and see countless people not taking this seriously.
The boys and I are on day 35 of lockdown and the reality is, we have a long way to go.
Frankly, I don’t care if we’re locked down for a year, if that’s what it takes to get through this and preserve as many lives as possible. My only priority is to keep my family safe and I’ll do whatever it takes.
Now that I got that out of my system, I have a couple updates to share.
The boys had their very first telemedicine, or online doctors appointment yesterday. It was a little weird for them but they did fantastic.
These appointments were for Elliott and Emmett. Gavin hasn’t had one just yet but he will. I have them setup in my makeshift bedroom studio and it works out quite well. They see their doctor on the screen and hear them through the headphones. They each spent 10 or 15 minutes speaking with their doctor and I’m really proud of them.
I’ve been working on improving my makeshift studio, especially because most of my podcast interviews are done via Zoom and I’m getting interviewed more frequently myself. I’m being interviewed by BBC Worldwide this weekend as well.
I’m trying to make improvements where I can. My equipment is good but my environment isn’t. My house isn’t quiet and there’s always noise coming from my neighborhood. I can’t control that but it can be addressed in post. I’m getting better as I learn more.
One thing I can control was my immediate surroundings. By that, I’m referring to my bedroom itself.
With some help from my friendly neighborhood Gavin, I moved some furniture around and made better use of the space. It’s coming together and I’m making little improvements as I can. Here’s what it currently looks like. You can’t see the lighting but no more shadows. ☺
It’s a more comfortable place to work and I feel accomplished. The podcast is growing and I have a string of amazing guests booked over the next few weeks.
One of my goals is to release the video recording of the podcast as well. There’s two way video of the whole thing and I’d ideally like to upload that to YouTube. That would create an additional revenue stream, which is a good thing. I need to work out some details and them make sure, going forward, my guests are okay with releasing the video.
Anyway, the kids are fighting and I have to finish mixing this week’s episode, so I can release it on time. I hope you’re all staying safe and staying home. My love to you and your families. Hang in there. We will get through this.
The studio looks great! Also a great outlet for the kids to reach out into the world. Good for you.
It is not easy – glad telemedicine works for your boys. My kids stressed, anxious, etc. as well. No school since 3/13 and most likely finished through June. I would be surprised if summer school happens at this point here NYS – Monroe County). Doing counseling, etc. via zoom, etc. NOT an option for them – neither is phone conference. Both my kids have autism, anxieties, C-PTSD, ADHD, OCD then both have other diagnosis. My daughter is also deaf – non verbal. I am also deaf – NO PHONE EITHER since this started as I use Cap Call – try many times a day to make calls – avg 1 call a week for last 2 weeks – 100+ tries only get call captioned once now if lucky – this week NONE. Did get to listen to answering machine for few calls yest. for first time as captioned – – was 5:30am only problem is can NOT return calls as too early and after 15 min. – got too busy. Decided why bother listening when can not respond. It is so hard – I with you – do what we have to so our kids and we stay safe as being one only parent makes so many more challenges. Some days I feel as anxious, stress as my kids. Thankfully comm hab and respite are essential – so get few hours a week. I run for staple food, pick up meds – was hoping to go once a month for meds but one of my son’s meds had no refills so had to return few days later. Only few cases in town we live in but not may be hitting closer to us soon. My kids do NOT understand why no school, can NOT go anywhere, etc. They ask to go to school DAILY. My daughter is 191/2. My son turns 19 on the 24th. Tried to tell him we will do something for his birthday when it is safe. This is scary for us as no one really knows when this will improve – talks of can be dealing with virus for another year. We have to do it but it is so hard. Now everyone here wears face masks (I did from day one as had them due to my daughters compromised immune system. Mine is also so when I go to store I wear one. I feel more isolated as I lip read so now can not understand pharmacist, cashier, etc. and can NOT remove their mask – even though have a clear petition and I can stay 6 feet away. Prayers for all of you. Stay safe.
I read the whole article and was really impressed with your set up. Well done. Hi there. I am going around the neighborhood introducing myself. My name is Marc. My blog contains excerpts from my book The Driveway Rules. It contains memoirs about growing up with undiagnosed autism. I hope you stop by.