I hate this zero tolerance policy for touching.  It's a necessary evil but at the same time it's a huge pain in the ass. We have to do zero tolerance because Gavin simply doesn't respect a broader boundary. We've tried it for years and he always tries to take things,  just one step further. He was supposed to get his privileges back this morning,  and honestly,  I was excited about that. However,  not only did he touch Elliott this morning but he was also sneaking TV as well. The touching was not inappropriate,  aside from the fact that he's not supposed to be touching his friggin brothers. It was however,  totally avoidable but instead he choose to touch Elliott. Before that,  he came downstairs and wanted to help clean the…

Today's Friday Forum topic is once again, something I think is important to discuss. Respite care is something that so many of us desperately needs and so few of us actually get. I actually just posted about this and I discussed my concerns with respite and I have heard from a few of you expressing the very same concerns. I decided that this would warrant further discussion and a sharing of experience. While this Friday's topic is the main discussion for the week, please feel free to jump in on the previous discussions as well. The discussion will take place in the #Autism Help Forums. Registration is simple, fast and free. You will need to confirm your email before being allowed to actually post anything. Can’t be at your computer today?…

We celebrated the end of the school year for both Gavin and Elliott.  Gavin,  I'm extremely proud to say made Honor Roll for the entire year. Amazing job Gavin. Elliott did just as well and received an award for the Best karate Kick. I'm so proud of both of them for all there hard work this year. Tonight we celebrated with a little cookout. It was pleasant and everyone had a relatively relaxing evening.  I even burned about 500 calories doing yard work tonight.  I didn't get to walk but exercise is exercise.

In the decade or so that my wife and I have been special needs parents,  we have never had respite care. People ask me about it all the time and want to know why we don't have it.  Well,  it's complicated but I want to explain probably the biggest reason we don't. Most people probably think that we would kill for respite care. The truth is that while we would benefit from respite,  it's just not that simple,  at least for us. There's something that you need to understand about being a special needs parent.  Please understand that I mean you in general.  I know many of you out there understand this.  :-) We looked into respite many years ago,  when Gavin was having upwards of 6 or 7 huge…

I don't remember when I actually got this.  It was a long time ago but it's probably my most frequently used material possession,  aside from my phone. I have this on the wall, positioned so that I see it every time I come down the steps in the morning,  or walk into the kitchen. It's meant to be a constant reminder to always keep perspective. I can't say how well it works all the time but it does help to remind me that some things are simply outside of my control and that I should focus on those this that I have power or control over.  I just thought I would share this with you all.  I'm not overly religious and I'm certainly not preachy.  I just think this is…

Good News/Bad News   Lizze visited with her neurologist this morning. This was a very bittersweet appointment and one that brought with it, some very disheartening news. One the positive side, her neurologist has agreed to take over as her pain management doctor. This is a really good thing because it puts all her care under one roof. This also means that only one doctor will be managing all her medications and that's also a good thing. However, this is where the good news ends and the bad news begins. Out of options   Lizze has had the same migraine now for over 5 months. The previous headache infusion was a failure. For those unfamiliar with what a headache infusion is, it's basically Intravenous medications, given for a set period of time per day for…

We met with Dr.  Pattie last night to discuss Gavin’s behaviors and the impact they are having on the family.  She watched the videos and described the behavior as institutional behavior. This is very concerning because he's continually escalating. Since this is willful behavior it's even more concerning. The reason is because when doesn't get the reaction he's looking for,  he ups the anty.  The biggest concern is how far is he willing to go. If he doesn't get the reaction he's wants,   by hurting himself,  what will he do next? His meltdowns are becoming much more violent and they are moving in a direction that makes them more dangerous to those around him. One of the things Dr. Pattie mentioned last night was that Gavin has absolutely no ability…

I wanted to share a few pictures I took the other day.  These were shot with my Samsung Galaxy Nexus.  I was pretty impressed by the quality of the shots. My subject was a baby Praying Mantis.  We have tons of these things all around the house.  For whatever reason,  the rose bush,  behind my house is a hot spot for Praying Mantis.  There are egg sacs all over.  These little guys are finding their way into our house. That where I first met this guy. He's so tiny,  I had to be really careful not to squish him when I moved him outside. It's supposed to be good luck to have these around. While there jury's still out on that one,  I did enjoy seeing a baby Praying Mantis, …