About a week ago I launched the Official Autism Support Forums . This forum Autism Support Forums is an evolution of the Reality Autism Support group I founded on Facebook.  The Autism Support Forums are a huge leap forward from the usual Facebook groups.  I've have worked really hard to provide the community with a safe,  private and judgement free place to go and advice from, or just converse with other special needs parents.  In the last week or so,  80 people have joined the group and there are already several hundred posts. I'm really excited that this has taken off as much as it has. In the first week or so many new forums have been added as well as support for mobile access via the Tapatalk app.  This…

Something that has always bothered me is the parents that shoot those daggered looks of judgement. Most of you know what I'm talking about. When I'm out in public and my child with Autism has a meltdown or is otherwise struggling in the environment he is in at that particular moment. People unsympathetically look at me as though I should do something more aggressive than try and talk my child down or defuse the situation with calm, quite words. Granted, most people don't have the slightest idea what is going on and why I choose to handle these outbursts the way I do. However, is it really necessary to make snide comments about my child needing a firm hand? In the past 10 years, I've heard just about every sort of…

My friend Jeff Stimpson periodically does guest posts here on my blog. I love his writing and love being able to share these posts with you all.   You can contact/follow Jeff at the below locations. jeffslife.tripod.com/alextheboy Twitter: @Jeffslife Books: Alex: The Fathering of a Preemie and Alex the Boy: Episodes From A Family's Life With Autism   ++++++++++++++++++   Opinions   My 13-year-old son Alex and I get into the elevator with a neighbor. Perfectly normal thing to do after the end of a perfectly normal day. The door slides shut and the neighbor says, “Five, please” when I ask what floor she wants. Then perfectly normalcy ends. This violates my new rule of avoiding, if I can, elevators with neighbors when I’m riding with Alex. He still presses the…

The Autism Society and Autistic Self Advocacy Network speak out on the changes coming to the DSM-5 as it pertains to Autism. I would love to hear your thoughts on this :-) The Joint Statement of the Autism Society and Autistic Self Advocacy Network on the DSM-5 and Autism As two national organizations committed to working to empower the autism and Autistic communities today and into the future, the Autism Society of America and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network issue the following joint statement regarding the definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder within the DSM-5. The autism spectrum is broad and diverse, including individuals with a wide range of functional needs, strengths and challenges. The DSM-5's criteria for the new, unified autism spectrum disorder diagnosis must be able to reflect that…

Today's Victory is brought to you by Mr.  Emmett John.  For those of you young children that struggle to sleep in their own bed,  you'll need no explanation. For the rest you out there, this is Emmett sleeping in his own bed. For the Lost and Tired family,  this is a huge victory.  :-) Posted from WordPress for Android

In moment of what I now realize was complete insanity,  I decided to go to my parents house to celebrate my moms birthday as well as Gavin's... We went to my parents to celebrate a few birthdays.  We had cake, ice cream and sang happy birthday to Gavin,  my Mom and my sister's boyfriend. Everything was going well until Gavin opened his presents.  The was all it took to set Emmett off. Emmett freaked out because he wanted to open Gavin’s presents. Emmett screamed and screamed. I could see Gavin starting to get wound tighter and tighter. After we got home,  Gavin had 2 meltdowns and Emmett had his share as well. Tonight has been a rough night and I don't ever want to repeat it. Sometimes I forget why…

Since I've been married I haven't really followed professional sports.  It's not that I don't want to,  it's just I have other things to worry about. We also got rid of cable a few years ago,  so I couldn't watch them,  even if I wanted to. Having said that,  I do enjoy the Super Bowl,  especially the commercials. The problem is that,  while my kids enjoy the festivities of Super Bowl Sunday,  it's one of the absolute worse things I could allow them to partake in. Can you say,  sensory overload? The big screen TV,  the flashing lights,  screaming and cheering all contribute to a nightmarish amount of sensory input. The boys would have fun while in the moment,  however,  they would reach a threshold very quickly and things would…

We have been having an ever increasing problem with Gavin wetting the bed at night.  To be honest, he wets himself during the day as well. The problem is that he has very little sense of personal hygiene.  This means that unless we become aware of the accident,  he will simply continue wearing the same clothes or sleeping on the same bed sheets. Last night,  Elliott and Gavin had a sleep over in Gavin's room. Elliott camped out on the crib mattress.  However,  Gavin tried to make Elliott more comfortable by covering the mattress with some of his blankets. When I checked on Elliott before bed,  I was hit in the face by the smell.  When I walked over to Elliott,  he had one of Gavin's blankets wrapped around his…