#Autism:Teaching life lessons with toilet paper

I fully realize that the title of this post may sound really weird but it really isn't. I want to share with all of you and encourage all of you at the same time, to please take things like this to heart.  You're probably wondering how in the world can you use toilet paper to teach a life lesson. I'm going to show you in the video below. Let me set the stage..... Bella, our Boxer puppy, got into the toilet paper the other day. It was horrible. Toilet paper was absolutely everywhere, but mostly isolate to my bedroom.....but I digress. That is what created the need to go to the store and inspired the video below. Basically, I took Gavin to the store and asked him to buy a…

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Kissing therapy goodbye

Gavin had therapy today and I have a really bad feeling that it will be his last,  at least for awhile. Gavin was getting really dizzy,  to the point of panic today.  That's never happened before. I had the heart rate monitor on him but he's so friggin skinny it kept falling off,  so I don't know what his heart rate was doing.  I just don't know how safe this is for him,  at least for the immediate future. We're going to have to speak to neurology ASAP.  We really need to figure this out. He needs the therapy but not when his health is so unstable. This really sucks..... **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help" app…

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Victories in the land of #Autism

This doesn't happen very often,  at not often enough.  All three of my boys are playing nicely together,  without any fighting,  screaming or yelling.  :-) With three boys in different places on the #Autism spectrum,  they often squabble due in part to differences in communication abilities etc. It's frustrating for everyone involved but it's just one of those things that we have to work on. However,  moments,  like the ones captured below,  are truly heartwarming for me as a father.  I love seeing them all get along and find a way to bridge the communication gap and just enjoy each others company.  Fantastic job boys,  Daddy is soooooo proud of you. **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Autism Help Forum Look for "Autism Help"…

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Grownups have nightmares as well

I'm sleeping on the couch so that Lizze can try and feel less claustrophobic.  I just woke up from one of the worst nightmares I've ever had.  Oddly enough,  I'm compelled to go back to sleep.. **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.

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The choices we make effect the kind of life we live

For all the headache and nightmarish behavior we see from Gavin,  I want to share this with you.  For the most part,  this past week since Gavin's been home has been pretty good.  There have been a few frustrating moments for him but not a single meltdown in over a week.  That's down from several a day. It think there are a few things at work here.  For example,  I'm trying to spend more one on one time with Gavin,  even when I really don't feel like it.  I'm tired all the time and even well behaved,  he is exhausting.  We are working on rewarding his positive behavior once again.  That may seem like common sense and for most kids it is but Gavin exploits every reward system we have…

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The 6 hour trip to the pediatrician

We just made it home from the pediatricians office. Gavin was on a borderline automatic crisis,  likely triggered by the carrier ride and Elliott and Emmett were on complete overload.  Gavin pulled through without incident,  thank God.  Elliott and Emmett both checked out a-okay. We are going to take a more cautious approach to medicating Elliott.  Due to the fact that all the records haven't transferred yet,  we didn't start anything. We like the conservative approach and that's one of the reasons we followed him 30 minutes north of his old practice. Gavin's health has to take priority but we are going to move at a pace with Elliott that will be as fast as we are both comfortable with.  Lizze and I find that perfectly acceptable.  Because our kids…

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#Autism, anxiety and medication: Intuitive

Today is the day we have been waiting for.  We make our return to our favorite pediatrician of all time.  This also marks the first day of Elliott's new medication.  The new medication is called intuitive.  This medication is for use with ADHD and anxiety.  While we don't know if Elliott has ADHD,  it's a very real possibility.  We do know for sure that Elliott deals with extreme levels of anxiety. This medication should cover both bases. We discontinued the Risperdal a few weeks ago because of side effects and it wasn't working. Hopefully,  this will help Elliott to relax a bit more and not worry so much.  Have any of you had experience with intuitive and if so,  was it a good or bad experience? Thanks **Thanks for reading**…

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Lost & Tired? How about Getting Lost at Sea?

This is a public service announcement: I wanted to share this opportunity with you all.   By Mike Sobbell, founder, Autism on the Seas, per my request Managing the 24/7 ups, downs and all arounds of parenting a child on the spectrum can really test one’s mettle.  But what about decompressing, down-time – VACATION?  For most families with special needs kids, the idea of a vacation rarely gets beyond the dream state with thoughts of meltdowns, public humiliation, feelings of awkwardness, fear of the unknown -- and then there’s the financial consideration.  Our friend, Rob Gorski, asked us to tell you about our Autism on the Seas Vacation Grant Program funded by our partner, Skyeward Bound Ranch.  We hope you will apply and for those of you who would like to take…

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