Do your ASD children struggle with personal hygiene? I think that it's pretty typical for Autistic children to need some help in the hygiene department. I know that Gavin does, especially when it comes to his face. He will get up from eating walk around with food all over his face like shrapnel from an exploded bomb. I have been encouraging him to take some time out of his day to look in the mirror, especially after eating to make sure his face is clean. As he gets older it becomes more and more important for him to do some of these things on his own. He does the same thing when brushing his teeth. He literally gets tooth paste all over his face and just walks around like it's…

So I have to say that one of the scariest things about raising a child with Autism is when they hit puberty. Everything changes......everything changes. In my experience with Gavin, have seen his reactions to medications change as his hormones begin to take flight. The meltdowns...yeah. they are WAY worse now but far less frequent. He's just stronger now and does't know his own strength. Gavin is also starting to grow a mustache and is getting some arm pit hair as well. He pretty proud of it, so I thought it worth mentioning. One of the "problems" we are seeing is with his coordination. I mean, he drops everything, literally. He falls both up AND down the steps. Today alone, he dropped his water bottle several times. He also dropped…

I like helping people, especially those touched by Autism. Blogging has been a big help to me. I thought I would try to help the Autism blogging community by providing a page to submit your Autism or Autism related blog information. Basically, you are adding yourself to my blog roll. I get between 1,000 and 2,000 hits a day, so this might help to get YOUR blog some visibility also. This way when visitors come to read Lost and Tired they will also see your linked blog, via my blog roll as well. This can help to drive traffic to newer and older blogs alike. The internet is FILLED with hundreds of millions of websites. I think Autism and Autism related bloggers have a message for the world and I want to…

We had another situation with Gavin this morning. I walked into Elliott's room and saw that someone had ripped the shade down in Elliott's window.....again. These are the kind that you pull down and they stay and you pull them again and they go up. Gavin really struggles with the concept of these shades and so he ends up pulling them completely down and ripping them off the rod. He just did this a few days ago and I told him then that he is to NOT touch the blinds anymore....period. He said "OK" as he watched me fix it in front of him. This morning I walk into Elliott's and see the blinds ripped off the rod again. I asked Gavin about it and he did his "silent little…

Part of the frustration for me with Gavin is simply the lack of ability to get accurate information from him. I know it's likely an Aspergers thing and most of the time it's just a bit annoying but sometimes it's much more frustrating. The times I find it the most frustrating are when his health is involved. He is simply not a reliable source of information about himself.... That sounded weird..but you get my point...right? Right now Gavin just drank a large bottle of "stuff" (can't remember the name) that is going to empty his entire colon in a short amount of time. This is what they do to prep patients the night before a colonoscopy. Gavin is so backed up that this was necessary in order to ensure he…

We will be engaging in battle with our school system here very soon. They don't consider Emmett to be Autistic by their standards. They also don't think that a child with Autism spectrum disorder/pdd-nos is Autistic. So in light of this, Emmett will be getting short changed in the services department. They are ONLY willing to provide him with speech and language. Yeah.....not gonna happen. We have a child advocate already lined up and waiting for the paperwork. While I was hoping to do this without a battle, clearly that won't be possible. I was thinking, maybe it would benefit everyone if we pooled our collective knowledge and experience in the IEP/ERT department. What kind of battles have you had to fight for your child's education? Do you have any…

Emmett brings you his "Mr. Messy" T-shirt today. This is one of his most favorite shirts in the whole wide world. - 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 :)

So Gavin was at the GI doctor yesterday. As it turns out he is pretty blocked up. They decided to give him a bowel prep in order to empty him out. Gavin needs more fiber in his diet because his psych meds are causing. him to be constipated. That very pleasant experience will start tonight because he will have no where to be on Friday. He will need to stay....um...very close to.....home. I mentioned irony in this post title. The reason for that is that they suggested he eat more.....wait for it...wait for it.....that's right you guessed it, oatmeal. I explained about the whole oatmeal thing and she basically, that the oatmeal he had been eating likely helping to keep this from getting worse. See....ironic..huh.. The one thing that the…