First of all, thank you for the thoughts and prayers. I'm exhausted and my brain is shutting down so I'll do my best. Basically Gavin is a 10 year old toddler going through puberty. He's as emotionally mature as a 2 or 3 year old. Gavin is also incapable of showing empathy. So problems arise with the other kids getting hurt either physically or emotionally. Gavin does not allow for anyone else to have and/or use their own imagination. He gets very upset when this happens. Gavin has become extremely easily agitated. He meltdown at the drop of a hat. He doesn't pay any attention to his surroundings and so people get hurt. These meltdowns are becoming more and more intense. Today was so bad that neighbors actually came out…

We are currently in a crisis  with Gavin. Per his Doctor he has been sedated and we are waiting for a 6pm appointment today to discuss our options. LT

I deleted the old Lost and Tired facebook page because the format was designed with businesses in mind. I started a new Lost and Tired community page and it will work better.  Please check it out, join up and share your story. Sorry about the confusion but I messed up when setting up the first one. We are good to go now. Thanks, LT

We recently cut down 3 mulberry trees in our back yard do to the destructive nature. For most of the summer our yard is literally buried in berries. I'm talking inches of berries. The berries bring bee's and other nasties around and the kids simply can't use the yard. A few weeks ago we took three of them down. I have since chipped them and stacked the lumber. As the yard is finally coming together I have been thinking of ways to make it more usable and relaxing to spend time in. We definitely need a space to go into that allows us to relax and the kids to get some exercise.  would also love to have small get together's out there. One of the first things I have to do is…

Gavin's facial ticks are getting really bad now. We are waiting to hear back from the doctor. He goes back in later this week. All his facial expressions are greatly exaggerated now. His lips keep moving even when he's not talking. He has also hit another period of regression and is becoming more and more difficult to manage. The rest of the summer is going to drag on forever until we figure this out.

Elliott Richard is not sleeping again. So Lizze is down stairs sleeping with him tonight. I just got up stairs to go to bed and Emmett John is still fully dressed with his shoes and socks on. If I try to take his shoes off he just screams. I really don't see what it hurts to let him go for right now. If it's comforting to him then so be it. Hopefully as these services begin to kick in then we can work on that. For now he is sleeping peacefully and that's how it's going to stay.

One of the biggest things I have learned over the years (besides not being able to purchase sanity at the local drive thru) is that animals can have such a positive impact on an Autistic child. Animals have such a unique way of bonding with a special needs child. Last week I introduced Maggie, our English Staffy. People are deathly afraid of her due to her very aggressive appearance. However, after meeting her EVERYONE falls in love with her. She never fails to amaze me with how good she is with our kids. Today was another great example. She has this three ring pull toy. She is very "enthusiastic" when it comes to tug of war because she will always win (doesn't matter how strong you are because she's stronger).…

How do you manage 3 kids on the spectrum with 3 very different sensory needs? Often times their individual needs may even be conflicting with someone else's. As a special needs parent that is one of the toughest parts. As with most kids on the spectrum, sensory stimulation can be both good and bad. The truly tough part is identifying the sensory needs or each individual child. If you can accomplish that you can even better manage the meltdowns and tantrums. In our experience, many meltdowns are triggered by some type of sensory overload. In Gavin's case we are still trying to figure that out. Gavin's needs have always been a moving target. However, seamless clothes have been a help. We have only gotten as far as seamless socks but…