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…

One of the biggest issues I face as a special needs parent to 3 Autistic children is communication barriers. In this post I once again focus on Gavin as our experience with him at ACH yesterday inspired this post. We were at ACH the other morning and when Gavin was being asked questions about his stomach pain and chest pain by his GI doc. He couldn't answer in any way that was relevant as his answers generally weren't even on topic. When asked if he poops everyday he didn't know the answer. We explained to Gavin that there are no right or wrong answers and he is not in trouble. Regardless, he struggles to answer the most basic of questions. The doctors then look to Lizze and I for answers…

I'm curious if anyone out there has a spouse or significant other that is Autistic? What kinds of unique challenges to you face? The biggest struggle Lizze and I face is effective communication. - 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 helped you learn a lot about my family over the past year or so but I never really delve into what makes me tick. I thought is was important to share some things that make me.....well...me. I don't remember if I ever said anything about this or not but I'm dealing with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) mostly due to everything I saw while working as a paramedic. I never really spoke with anyone about these things as most simply won't understand. Some of the things I saw, most people simply could never imagine. The calls involving children haunt me the most. I will NEVER forget what it feels like to perform CPR on a child that I already knew was gone because I didn't know what else…