Blog - Page 293 of 1611

He’s 18 years old on the outside but not on the inside

Gavin's having a rough time today. He's eighteen years old now but can't be treated or managed like a typical, freshly minted adult. Unfortunately, Gavin's cognitive ability is significantly lower than his chronological age. Until we have his new NeuroPsych testing done this summer, we won't know exactly how much he's regressed since the last time he was tested, but his doctors have pinned his emotional age at around eight or nine years of age. That's a ten year difference between his developmental age and his chronological age. As he gets older, it becomes more and more obvious that he is struggling. Today he was taking out the recycling (supervised of course) and his lack of ability to problem solve was on full display. We have recycling collected in a…

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February 19, 2018

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Why it’s important for special needs parents to find something positive in each day

When you're a special needs parent, it's quite common to feel overwhelmed. If you did a keyword search in this blog, you'd find countless times I've used the word overwhelmed to describe how I'm feeling. Being overwhelmed isn't something that's easy to deal with because of its very nature. When I'm overwhelmed, I sorta feel like I'm being crushed under the weight of all that's going on in my life. In that moment, I'm unable to carry the weight and no longer able to even process anything. It's kinda like a computer bogging down because it's doing too much at one time. During these moments, it's not uncommon to feel a sense of dread or dispair. It's important that you not give into these feelings. It's hard for people to…

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February 19, 2018

My thoughts

Do you ever feel like life has just kicked your ass?

It's been a long weekend and it's still not over yet cause there's no school today. There's not been anything catastrophic that's happened in the last few days but I feel like I had my ass kicked up one side of the road and down the other. Truthfully, Lizze and I are both on edge but there isn't one single thing that's responsible for our stress. It's a combination of things and it creates tension between us that we don't even realize is there until we have a disagreement. It's nothing major or even worth mentioning other than to illustrate how stress impacts us both. I know Gavin is wearing on me but so is everyday life. I'm absolutely exhausted, overwhelmed and truly feeling like life is kicking my ass.…

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February 19, 2018

My thoughts

I desperately need a nap

I’m going to be straight with you guys because the only way I can help is to be honest and transparent. With that being said, Gavin’s driving me crazy. He’s requiring more and more effort as time goes on. I know that sounds bad but let me explain.

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February 18, 2018

Gavin / My thoughts

Feeling guilty because I’m frustrated with my Special Needs son

Today was full of ups and downs. If you know anything about being a special needs parent, you're likely aware that it's often a roller-coaster of emotions. Frankly, this is one of the reasons life is so hard because the ride never stops. Elliott and Emmett have been Elliott and Emmett all weekend. They're exhausting but we've managed thus far. When it comes to Gavin, that's a different story. He's really struggling and it's painfully apparent that life is not cutting him any slack. I'm going to be straight with you guys because the only way I can help is to be honest and transparent. With that being said, Gavin's driving me crazy. He's requiring more and more effort as time goes on. I know that sounds bad but let…

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February 18, 2018

My thoughts

Being a Special Needs parent has been so heartbreaking recently

I write a great deal about being an Autism and Special Needs Parent. I've done this for close to a decade now and I don't plan on quiting anytime soon. There's a tremendous need for awareness and by sharing our story, it helps others to understand. One of the things I'm struggling with right now has to do with Gavin, my 18 year old with many serious Special Needs. His needs are both of the physical and emotional variety. The most pressing matter at the moment is in regards to his physical health. Gavin has several life threatening health problems and they are very consuming for me as a parent. Currently, Gavin has been having issues with his blood, more specifically, the cell counts in his blood. In a nutshell,…

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February 17, 2018

Family Pets / Ferrets / Gallery / My thoughts

Have you ever bathed a ferret?

It's been a few months since the last time we did this but it was high time to give the ferrets a bath. It's not recommended that you bathe a ferret more than a few times a year because doing so, can actually make them smell worse. Emmett and I took on the task of bathing all four of the ferrets, two at a time. Some of the ferrets really like the water and some of them don't. Lemme wanted nothing to do with it. Tiny, Zane and Charlie did quite well by comparison. The hardest and most painful part for me personally, was their claws. When they cooperated, it wasn't too bad but when they didn't want to play along, their claw ls were fucking sharp. Emmett and I…

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February 17, 2018

Contributed / Link / My thoughts / Sponsored Post

Preparing Your Family For Survival

This is a collaborative post and does not necessarily the views and opinions of this blog or its author. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to get creative when the water was unavailable, or the power was out? I’m not talking about a busted light bulb in the bathroom, but when a hurricane has torn the power grid out in your town and you are now without electricity. Have you ever been on one of the islands when a cold snap has hit, and the pipes completely freeze solid? The water stops running when that happens, and you and your family are going to fit into one of two camps: the camp where you have repair supplies to hand along with a supply of water,…

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February 16, 2018