Things are getting pretty dire on our end and the stress can be cut with a knife.  My new job is taking longer than expected to begin helping my family.  One of the things I'm trying to do is find a new freelance writing job. Something that can sorta bring in a few extra dollars.  I had a pretty decent writing job last year but they downsized and I, along with a few others were given the boot. It's really quite overwhelming to be faced with so many challenges and to have those challenges require resources that you don't have and can't get because those same challenges tie your hands behind your back. I suppose that's just part and parcel to the whole special needs parenting gig. People that aren't…

Last night as a disaster.  The only one of us that slept through the night was Gavin.  Elliott was too afraid of bad dreams to sleep and Emmett woke up just after midnight melting down because the side of his nose was itchy. It doesn't take a whole lot to rock the boat in my special needs family. :-( This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-) Follow @Lost_and_Tired "Like" me on Facebook Visit the My Autism Help Forums To reach me via email, please Contact Me

Emmett was having fun taking to Siri on the iPad today. He just discovered this mysterious and entertaining voice that comes from the iPad today. He would ask Siri questions and then begin giggling uncontrollably when  she answered him. I guess it's the little things in life.  :-) This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-) Follow @Lost_and_Tired Visit the My Autism Help Forums To reach me via email, please Contact Me

Elliott is going through a very hard time.  It was extremely challenging to get him to go to school today. Since being home, he's had a few meltdowns over things that shouldn't really be that big of a deal. He's extremely anxious and overwhelmed. I spoke with his school counselor today and shared my concerns.  She mentioned that she has been noticing Elliott looking distraught and exhausted. Tonight he had a really hard time falling asleep.  He slept for a few minutes before making his way downstairs.  Lizze and I decided to let him sleep on the couch tonight. I will sleep on the other couch and hopefully Elliott will awake rested. I'm really concerned that the stress of everything in our lives is having a profoundly negative impact on…

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole Kelli Stapleton thing.  She is charged with the attempted murder of her 14 year old daughter with Autism. This was an apparent murder suicide attempt. I think what she did is indefensible but at the same time, how can we as a civilized society allow a situation to get so out of hand that a parent feels they have no other choice. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Stapleton family, especially Izzy. We pray for a speedy recovery. No child, regardless of how challenging, deserves to be murdered.  I believe so strongly that we have to raise awareness for special  needs parents. We have to be able to provide relief and support to parents before they reach the…

I wanted to take a minute and update you all as to where we stand on the medication crisis we've been trying to resolve for the past 2 weeks.  Just to recap.  Gavin was forced change insurance carriers as the state of Ohio is making all those on disability to switch off of Medicaid. Since the switch, Buckeye has been refusing to pay for Gavin's Clozapine because he's taking a dose that is higher than  recommended. That said, the higher dose is absolutely essential. Anyway, he had run out of Clozapine and insurance was still refusing to cover this $400 or $500 prescription. Dr.  Reynolds, Gavin's psychiatrist, has been working really hard to get this overturned. Today we received word that after going toe to toe with the doctors for…

One of the biggest struggles many parents with Autistic children have, has to do with feeding or mealtimes. I can say from personal experience, that this is one of our biggest struggles as well.  I think that it's a common misconception to think that kids on the Autism Spectrum are just picky eaters. In truth, I suppose it looks that way to the outsider but in reality, it's much, much more complicated than that. While I can't and won't speak for your child, I can share what I know about mine.  Many, many kids on the Autism Spectrum, also have something called Sensory Processing Disorder as well.  In a nutshell, this basically means that their body struggles with interpretation of sensory input. This can result in extreme overreactions to things…

At some point last night, Emmett climbed into our bed. Normally, that's something that would wake me up. I woke up around 2am because Mr. Emmett has glued himself to my person.  Once I woke up and realized this, I couldn't go back to sleep. Eventually I moved to the couch because the last thing in the world I wanted to do was wake him up. The only thing worse than having to move to the couch, would be Emmett waking up at 2am and not going back to bed.  I'm sooooo tired... This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-) Follow @Lost_and_Tired Visit the My Autism Help Forums To reach me via email, please Contact Me