In the advent of Gavin's continuous disrespectful behavior towards Lizze,  we have had to come up with a new set of consequences. It was recommended by Dr.  Patti,  that we not lose the oatmeal consequence,  but instead,  build off of that. One of the things we are trying is having him write. Yesterday,  he did this for the first time.  It didn't seem to bother him and I know that because he flat out told us that it did the bother him to have to write. Back to the drawing board I suppose. :-( **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…

I noticed something today that I find disturbing on many levels. If Gavin isn't disrespecting Lizze he completely ignores her. It's like he gets angry when he has to engage with her and maybe that's where the disrespect comes from. If he needs something and Lizze and I are both in the room,  he will walk right by her and ask me. The other day he was sitting at the table playing with his brothers, while Lizze sat with them supervising. I was walking out the door to run to the store. He wanted something and instead of asking Lizze,  he tried to catch me before I walked out the door. It made absolutely no sense at all. It's honestly like he wants nothing to do nothing her. I don't…

Gavin updated his treasure hunter ship with new pieces and wanted to share it with you all again. I'm always happy to support these positive things he likes to do.  I'm also proud to share them with you as well. **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. Please forgive any typos. I do know how to spell but auto-correct is working against me.

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.…