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

I mentioned earlier that Emmett's been really, really grouchy. We weren't sure what was going on but we figured it out tonight, as we were getting him ready for bed. Turns out that he's broken out in a bunch of new and painful mouth sores. I'm not sure how long they've been there but they are definitely there now. Last week he had them along his gum line but they cleared up after about 7 days.  These appear to have popped up today and they are making him very, very grouchy. I have a feeling that it's going to  be a long weekend. :-( 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…

Today has been insane.  Gavin and I seem to be the only ones to survive it unscathed. Emmett's been melting down on and off since he arrived home from school. Elliott's been right there with him. Emmett had an awesome day at school, so I have no idea why he's so upset. Elliott, on the other hand, was being teased today and that upset him. They were talking about their favorite cartoons and Elliott said that he likes My Little Pony.  Everyone laughed at him and his friends have been teasing him today as a result.  While I don't have an issue with Elliott liking My Little Pony, when he said that he announced that to his class,  I was like oooooooohhhhh. Elliott simply likes shows or cartoons with animals.…

After very long morning, we've finally made it home. Gavin had his appointment with Dr.  Moodley and while we have good news to share, I'm uncomfortable with it. Gavin had a neuro exam today and Dr. Moodley says that if we didn't know he had Autonomic Dysfunction, He'd say that Gavin was perfectly normal. He said that we know he's not but that's just how well he's doing at the moment.  Why does this make me uncomfortable? Shouldn't this be good news? Yes this is good news and yes it also makes me uncomfortable. The reason it makes me uncomfortable is because all of a sudden, everything is fine now. Why is it fine now, what's changed? Is this the calm before the storm? Is this a sign that he's…

We arrived a little while ago after battle idiot drivers and horrible traffic. Gavin did well on the way up but Lizze isn't feeling well.....at all. Please say a prayer that this is quick and painless....but also productive. 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

Elliott was not having a good morning.  He was in full freak out mode and I have no idea why. We finally got him dressed and off to school but I'm not sure what kind of day he's going to have.  In many ways, Elliott is paying the highest price for all the chaos, as it clearly hits him the hardest.  My hope is that he will find his way.  We are doing everything we can to help him but it's clearly not enough. With any luck, as the school year wares on, he will adjust to the new rhythm and get into his groove. Elliott doesn't handle change very well and there's been a great deal of change recently.  We'll get this figured out.  This site is managed almost…

In a short while, we will be making our way to see the amazing Dr. Moodley at the Cleveland Clinic.  This appointment was originally scheduled for the end of the month but they wanted to see him sooner due to his recent hospitalization. While we are there I have to procure some records to scan and email to John's Hopkins Ataxia Telangiectasia Clinic. I don't know what more can really be done but we might have to adjust his medications a bit to try and further stabilize him.  At this point though, everything that can be done, is being done. Even though it doesn't feel like we are doing everything possible, we are.  I don't expect anything major to occur as a result of this appointment.  The truth is that…