I think theres a very common and very inaccurate misconception about people with #Autism.  Many people think that children and adults with #Autism somehow are incapable of feeling or showing emotions.  I want to point out with a specific example how this is not necessarily true.  Emmett absolutely loves his dog Bella. He shows her empathy and compassion as she's recovering from her recent surgery.  He missed her while she was gone and was overjoyed upon her return. He's concerned that she's in pain and worried that her boo boos aren't getting better.  It's so important to remember that simply because someone doesn't express or perceive emotions the same as you or I,  doesn't mean they are emotionless.  People are all different and feel and perceive the world in different…

I think many of us have heard the words Tough Love before,  but do we know what they really mean? I mean, can we really understand what it entails unless we have been there? In my humble opinion, I that Tough Love is different for every parent and family.  Everyone is unique,  as are their experiences. Having said that,  I do think there are similarities that connect us as parents who desperately love our challenging children and want nothing but the best for them. The primary issue with that many of us face is helping our children to stay on the right path. In the Lost and Tired family,  Gavin is obviously our child that requires Tough Love. To me,  that means that we have to do things that we…

I wish that we could get instant results from testing or things like MRI's.  Lizze did really well today,  but was sedated due to her fear of confined space. We will get the results in the next couple of weeks at her next appointment.  The waiting sucks. If she has something wrong with her back,  we should know about it right away.  I wish there wasn't a delay.  If we knew what was wrong,  than we could start working on addressing the problem and maybe get her some much needed relief.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  Lizze made it through okay and is sleeping of the medication.  I want to also thank my mom for taking such good care of her today.  :-) **Thanks for reading**  …

How do you know when it's going to be one of those days? I ask this because I'm curious if this is something that is different for each of us. Is there a tell tale sign that the day is going to be extra challenging? For me personally, I can usually tell by the mood that Gavin wakes up in.  Lately he's been in a good mood.  However,  when he becomes frustrated first thing in the morning,  it's usually downhill from there. What kinds of things do see as signs that a bad day is in the horizon? **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store This was posted via WordPress for Android,…

Elliott and Emmett found a nice distraction front Gavin's meltdown by playing Lego Batman 2 on the computer.  Despite the fact that have been bickering all day long,  and I mean all day long,  they worked as a team to defeat the Joker and Two Face. They took turns without any issues at all.  When Elliott was stuck,  Emmett helped him out and visversa.  I'm really proud of my boys for playing so nicely together. While Gavin's meltdown was unpleasant for all involved,  at least something positive came out of it.  :-) **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help" app at the Google Play Store This was posted via WordPress for Android, courtesy of Samsung's Galaxy S III.…

So Bella is back from the Vet's office and is going to be just fine.  They removed the tape,  which she had a reaction to.  She also did pop one stitch,  but she's already healing up nicely.  They did fit her for an e-collar.  To say Bella was unhappy about that would be a gross understatement.  However,  she only has to wear it when we can't watch her.  The stitches come out a week from today so we are going to have to try to just watch her till then. Bella sorta freaks out with the e-collar on.  It's kinda like trying to walk a cat on a leash.  They just sorta bounce around spazzing out. That's why we are going to likely just try to watch her instead of…

The honeymoon phase with Gavin is officially over. We had our first full fledged meltdown since his return from the psych unit. He's done pretty well until this point and I give him all the credit in the world for that. However, while his physical behavior has been better his continued disrespect for Lizze has continued to get worse. After meeting with Dr. Patti last night, we have all agreed that we must crack down on the disrespect. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behavior. It was also decided that we would maintain the oatmeal thing but since he says it doesn't bother him anymore, we need to add something in addition to it. For example, we can have him write "I will be respectful to my mother, she loves…

I have to take Ms.  Bella into the vet this morning at 10:15.  She got into her bandages last night and some of the tape is stuck on the actual sutures.  It should only take a few minutes,  hopefully. Less than an hour later,  Lizze is scheduled for her long awaited MRI.  Every time she has been close to actually getting it done,  Gavin ends up in the hospital. We were supposed to be in Cleveland this morning with Gavin.  However,  we received a call yesterday explaining that they found a better doctor for Gavin to see.  This changed his appointment date and allowed Lizze to finally get this done. This also means that we are going to be making quite a few trips to the Cleveland Clinic for Gavin…