Contagious Behaviors

Something I forgot to mention in my previous post about Gavin and reactive attachment disorder is that his behaviors seem to be contagious. Of course,  I don't mean they are literally contagious but more like a really bad example. I can say this because both Elliott and Emmett are modeling or mimicking Gavin's behaviors. For example, when they get upset, they hit themselves and call themselves stupid. Neither of the E's are listening very well,  especially when it comes to Lizze. The actual act of defiance is very similar to that of Gavin. In truth,  this is nothing new.  They have been modeling get Gavin's behaviors for years. The problem is that as Gavin's behaviors get worse,  so does that of the E's. Unfortunately for us,  the E's really look…

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And so it begins

Despite all the positive thoughts and Dear God's, Emmett is now officially sick. It's barely 5am and we are up because he's so stuffy he can't breathe. I can already see that it's gonna be one of those days. This was posted via WordPress for Android, courtesy of Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Please forgive any typos. I do know how to spell but auto-correct hate me. Please join our Autism Help Forums Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store

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One step closer to residential care

Operation Hope is what I call our plan to not only help Gavin by placing him into residential care but save what's left of my crumbling family.  Gavin's behaviors are destroying our family. We have engaged the services of Stark County Family council.  They offer a service called Wraparound. For more on that,  use my search widget.  Basically, Wraparound is a facilitator.  They help to locate services that will benefit the family in question and also build a support system as well. We have our 2nd meeting in the morning before school. Our coordinator wants to meet Gavin and so we will be doing that before school. I'm other sure who will be taking Gavin because only one of us can go,  due to the E's being sick. Every meeting…

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Reactive Attachment Disorder: A fathers confession

I met with Dr.  Patti tonight as pretty much everyone else in the Lost and Tired house is sick.  This gave me an opportunity to speak with her about things without any distractions. The topic was of course,  Gavin. We discussed Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)  and I gained some more insight into what Gavin's behaviors are doing to our family.  The truth is and Carl,  maybe you can back me up on this,  Gavin is attempting to divide Lizze and myself.  In some cases he is actually succeeding. That has to change and change immediately. Dr. Patti explained that this is very common in RAD kids.  Typically, the mother is the target and they do it in such a way that no one else ever witnesses anything.  That's exactly what's…

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Dear God, it’s me…..again

Dear God, I feel like we need to have a talk once again.  This isn't the first time we have spoken and I really thought we were on the same page. Clearly that's not the case. My intention is not to question you but I have to admit that I have a few questions. As you are no doubt aware,  raising special needs children is far from easy.  There really needs to be some type of divine intervention in some cases. Like many other parents, I accept and love my kids for the amazing gifts they are.  That's beyond contestation. I think that I'm doing a pretty good job,  all things considered. I'm sure you recall that I made a request back in the beginning of this journey you have…

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Goodbye and Good Riddance

I can't believe I neglected to announce this yesterday but better late than never.  I mentioned yesterday that Emmett blood panel came back and we heard from his immunologist. As you may or may not recall, Emmett had allergies to milk,  lactose,  egg and soy.  This has been very difficult to accommodate without going vegan. We managed to make it work for the last 3 years or so but at a huge expense.  Having said that,  we received word yesterday that Emmett is now, completely allergy free, at least as far as food goes.  This should make life, just a little bit easier. He is no longer limited to things like coconut milk based products. Those are insanely overpriced as you can see here in this picture.  This ice cream…

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Does your special needs family get the support it needs?

Today's #Autism Discussion is about support. As a special needs family, sometimes we need help.  The question is, when you need help,  can you find it? Does your special needs family get the support it needs? Are your friends and family supportive?  How about other organizations,  churches, schools etc? This was posted via WordPress for Android, courtesy of Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Please forgive any typos. I do know how to spell but auto-correct hate me. Please join our Autism Help Forums Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store

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#Autism and a higher threshold for pain

Elliott was at the pediatricians office this afternoon because he's been sick the past few days. Turns out he has croup. He sorta figured that as he's been barking like a seal. However, he also has a really bad ear infection. The doctor couldn't believe that he wasn't complaining about it. In fact, we were shocked to learn that as well. Our doctor said that Elliott mist have an incredibly high tolerance for pain. That surprised us as well because Elliott tends to complain about every little ache and pain. I thought I would ask you all if your child on the spectrum does anything similar? Perhaps it's a sensory processing thing? I was just curious because we feel terrible that we didn't pick up on this earlier. He just…

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