Since Operation Hope began late last year, we haven't made a significant amount of progress.  Lizze has been to the Cleveland Clinic and we know what we need to do for her, but we don't know how to do it.  When it comes to Gavin, we've made no progress on his fragile health.  We have however, found a direction to go in. That's progress.  The problem, much like with Lizze, we have no idea how to get there. Having said all that, we have made progress in one, very important area.  We will be taking Gavin for another evaluation tomorrow afternoon.  This time the evaluation is so that we can get a case manager. This is a pretty big deal because a case manager will help take some of the…

Dear God, I know that I don't talk to you as much as I should and when I do,  I'm asking for something. That's totally on me. I'm sure you already know that I've got a favor to ask you.  There are rumors that we have some winter weather blowing in tonight and that it could impact school in the morning.  I was wondering if you could pull a few strings and make sure we do not have a snow day in the morning.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kids.  I really do.  However,  if school is canceled in the morning, think of all the people that will be affected.  I'm not asking you this for myself. I have purely unselfish motives.  ;-) When school is canceled, there…

It's no secret that getting an #autistic child to eat, especially when they have sensory processing disorder as well,  can be next to impossible at times. I thought I would give you a bit of insight from my experience with my own autistic kids.  My kids are extremely picky eaters.  That's why when food allergies come up, it's an absolute nightmare to deal with.  Over the years,  Lizze and I have found that our boys tend to be very visual eaters.  By visual eaters I mean that they are very sensitive to the way their food looks, tastes and smells.  They are also incredibly sensitive to how their food is presented as well. If there is a perceived imperfection in the food, for example, a chicken nugget that is misshapen,…

This is a guest post, brought to you by the National Autism Resources Creating a Calm Down Room for Children with Autism or Sensory Disorders. As all parents know, dealing with a crying or agitated child is never fun. While each child and parent will have their own ways of resolving these situations, one thing that parents of Autistic kids do is create calm down rooms. When your child is over-excited, bringing them to a familiar, soothing location designed for their specific needs, may help them to relax, and can begin to bring them into a more serene state. However, certain sensory distractions may agitate them even more, so it is important to pay attention to what your child reacts to and doesn't. Here are some types of sensory disorder calming…