I wanted to take a minute and explain a bit about the "sensory issues" or Sensory Processing Disorder I always refer to in this blog. Basically, a great way to think about this is remembering the story of The Princess and The Pea. If you recall the princess was able to feel the pea through all of the mattresses when no one else could. It's very much the same way for Emmett, accept with his clothes. Emmett is EXTREMELY sensitive to the way clothes feel on his skin. Again, this is why in most of the pictures and videos he isn't wearing many. While Emmett struggles with the feeling of clothes on his skin in general, he struggles the most with his shoes and socks. To him, not only are they uncomfortable…

We are having major issues with aggression. Emmett is becoming much more aggressive and Lizze, Gavin and Elliott are paying a very heavy price. Not sure if the pictures so the claw marks on Gavin's neck and Elliott's back. Elliott was also bitten on his left......um....butt cheek. Obviously, we don't have pictures of that. However, the bite was pretty bad, luckily it didn't actually break the skin but it's badly bruised. Lizze is also being assaulted as well. She's getting smacked and hit on a fairly regular basis. She has scratches on her face and neck. I don't know how to address these aggressive behaviors. Part of the problem with Emmett lies in his frustration with communication or rather lack of communication. This is one of the less than positive…

  I was contacted by WritRams.com for an interview a few days ago. WritRams.com is a great site and I would encourage all of you to not only check out my interview but also the site itself and add it to your blog roll. Thank you Jacqueline for helping to spread my message and my family's story. :-)   My interview can be read here

The past few days have been pretty rough ones for Gavin. Last night he had a huge meltdown. He once again began to self-injure, biting,hitting and scratching himself. Today the struggle continued, as Gavin's choices lead to both Elliott and Emmett getting hurt. When he had his bloodwork this afternoon it was a complete disaster. Gavin was in pure drama mode and was so out of control that he made the lab tech jump while she was switching tubes. Lizze's mom called and we decided to send Gavin to stay with her parents for a little while. Sometimes you have to preserve the needs of the many over the needs few. Gavin right now needs to be in a different environment and we need the break. We will still struggle…

On occasion, the Lost and Tired family has a few of those quiet moments many others likely take for granted. This was one such moment this afternoon. Elliott and Emmett were sharing a blanket and couch while watching The Care Bears on Netflix. While these momenta are quite rare and fleeting when they do arrive they are appreciated none the less. - Lost and Tired Post by Wordpress for Android via Nexus S 4G with out the use of proper editing tools and auto-correct. Please Vote for Lost and Tired (just click the link) and help me spread Autism Awareness. Everyone can Vote once a day :)

I have been saying for a while now that we have to seize every opportunity to teach our kids the lessons that will help them to not only survive life but succeed in life. I refer to them as "Everyday Lessons". We have been dealing with some issues with the boys, namely Gavin and Elliott. They have been saving their money for a while and I thought it would be interesting to take them to the Dollar Tree and let them each spend $3.00 however they see fit. I explained that they have a $3.00 budget and because the Dollar Tree has everything for only a $1.00 I was able to explain to them that they can pick out 3 things each. Gavin actually did the best and choose his…

I thought I would update everyone as to how I'm doing. Last Wednesday I went to see my family doctor for a cholesterol follow up. The good news was that I managed to lower my LDL (bad cholesterol) by almost 40 pts. The bad news is that my HDL (good cholesterol) is WAY to low so I have to intensify my workouts a bit more. I also lost 10 lbs in 30 days. So that was kind of a shocker and it felt really good to hear that. Now for the honesty part. I had the uncomfortable conversation with my doctor about where I was mentally and emotionally. I felt that I was struggling and needed to get some help. I already talk to someone but that wasn't enough. I ask about being put back on anti-depressants…