Blog - Page 424 of 1612

Sometimes it’s hard to keep moving forward

Sometimes it's really hard to find the strength to pick up and continue moving forward. There are days when the idea of continuing to keep moving ahead, is so completely overwhelming. Poor Emmett has now gone almost two days without being able to tolerate a shirt. This is a newer thing for us, because we're used to the big issue being shoes, socks, and pants. Shirts have never really been a significant issues in regards to school. Unfortunately, the last two days have presented us with an obstacle that we were unable to overcome. Missing school is not something we take lightly, but neither are Emmett's Autism related struggles. We have to balance compassion and societal demands. We all know that kids have a long sorted history of wanting to…

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May 12, 2017

Emmett John / My thoughts / School Related Issues / Sensory

It’s been almost 12 hours and still no progress

It's currently pushing 5:30 PM, and Emmett still won't tolerate a shirt. We've tried a few times throughout the day, but haven't made any progress. I'm thinking it's best not to push him at this point because we want him to be able to wear one tomorrow morning. I spoke with the principal this afternoon, as a result of him reading a comment from the previous post. The comment stated the Emmett missed 42 days of school, and did so in a way that made it seem like the person commenting was a staff member at the school. I told him that I wasn't upset, if indeed it was a staff member, but I was curious if the number was right or not. He was really upset because it seems…

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May 11, 2017

Emmett John / My thoughts / Sensory

Nothing worked because everything hurt

Sensory processing disorder has gotten the best of us today. Mr. Emmett woke up after a night filled with nightmares, completely overwhelmed. In his nightmares, he's being eaten alive and can't wake up. Emmett's daily life is often dictated by his sensory issues. Today was particularly bad because he woke up, already overloaded, and not standing a chance. More often than not, Emmett will struggle with his clothes in the morning, but we can work through it. On these days, Emmett has enough resources in his coping bank account to help him through. Unfortunately, there are some mornings where this coping bank account is already overdrawn. He was very clearly overdrawn this morning, and he wasn't able to tolerate wearing a shirt. We worked to help him through this from…

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May 11, 2017

My thoughts

Tuesday night therapy

The boys and I are going to therapy without Lizze. She had a rough day in class and had a major panic attack. She's at home resting in bed. Hopefully, she'll be feeling better in a little while. In the course of my life, I've only ever had one or two major panic attacks, and from what I remember, they were exhausting. I feel for Lizze, because I know how tough those were for me, and I don't have any serious anxiety issues like she does. I hope she finds some peace while she's resting and we can get in with our day. If not, I'll help her any way that I can. ♥

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May 10, 2017

Awkward Conversations / Gavin / My thoughts

Tales of #Autism and really awkward conversations

One of the things that many Autism parents are all too familiar with is awkward conversations. When it comes to awkward conversations in our house, Gavin is King. 😁 We spent a couple hours with my grandpa this afternoon. Rather than Gavin going straight to the TV, I had him sit in the living room with us and hang out. That was an experience... ☺ Gavin has never avoided conversations with people, and that's a good thing. The problem is that he's not gifted in the ways of two-way conversations.. More often than not, Gavin will only want to talk about his video games, and will simply change the subject from whatever is being discussed. He didn't do that too much today, and I'm proud of him. What he did…

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May 10, 2017

Autism Parenting Insight / Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

Jamming pencils in my ears

I try to provide insight and inspiration to my readers, by sharing my thoughts and experiences. Sometimes though, the best I can do is share what I'm feeling after a long day of being an Autism and Special Needs parent. We weren't without our struggles yesterday, but it was a good day. One of the things I struggled with was Gavin's behaviors. There wasn't anything violent or majorly inappropriate, but that doesn't make it any less exhausting. If you have ever spent any time with Gavin, you will very quickly learn that he loves playing games on his tablet. You would learn this quickly because it's all he will talk about. I have listened to him talk about his games to the point I want to jam pencils in my…

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May 10, 2017

My thoughts

Here’s how the morning has been so far

The boys made it off to school today. Emmett struggled a bit this morning because he's nervous about returning to school after so long. He's also stressed out over his make-up work. We've been working on it while he was home but he still has quite a bit to do. The good news is that he's at school right now, and so is Elliott. The good news continues because Gavin and I finally made it back to the track. He was able to do 1.5 miles, at a decent enough pace. It felt real good to be back at it. ☺ Our goal is to take in the track a few days a week and the off days, I'll use the treadmill. Sadly, I can see Gavin struggling more and…

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May 9, 2017

My thoughts

I’m so close to getting the boys to school

I'm thinking that I'll be able to get both boys to school today. I'm being met with some resistance from Emmett, but it's more anxiety related. He hasn't been back to school in well over a week, and he's nervous about going back. Unfortunately, their clothes didn't dry and we're having to wait on the dryer before leaving. Lizze is already at class for the day, so Gavin and I are on our own. I think we will be walking the track and then visiting my grandfather around lunchtime. I'm hoping to get some writing done and then maybe some house work. I really, really need to get our routine back on track. It's been thrown off since Emmett began his latest flare. Even neurotypical Dad's need routine.. ☺

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May 9, 2017