I've dubbed the impact that my oldest son Gavin's behaviors have on the rest of family, as the Gavin Effect. The Gavin Effect is in full swing today and it's not even lunchtime yet. Gavin is a quagmire because it's really, really, really hard to tell what motivates some of his behavioral problems and what's within his control and what isn't. He's not only dealing with Autism but also some really dark mental health issues as well. He has the ability to stress out the entire house, including his brothers because he acts a certain way. Here's an example, Gavin pulled his brothers away from what they were doing this morning, so they could play together. When he finally convinced them to play in the dining room, he gets up…

It's pretty amazing to see how unique our dogs are.  Bella, our 1.5 year old boxer puppy can be a huge pain in the ass. That said, she's the sweetest dog in the world and a perfect compliment to Maggie and the rest of our family.  Just look at how she snuggled with Lizze on the couch today.  She's essentially standing, even though it looks like she's laying down. Lizze had a really, really bad day and Bella glued herself to to Lizze's side for a large part of the day. This was really cute because Bella held this position for like an hour.  Despite all the stress and constant struggle, we are really blessed in the areas of life that really life. This site is managed almost exclusively via…

I've been meaning to share this with you all for awhile now. I want to start sharing all the things that I've had people say to me about my kids with Autism. The point of this post is two fold.  Some of us may get a chuckle out of these things because it's happened to many of us before.  I also hope that those outside the community will take notice and learn what not to say to an Autism parent. Feel free to leave your own in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you.  :-) 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…

I like to deal with reality.  There hasn't been anything productive to ever come from sugar coating things, at least in my experience.  There's nothing wrong with positive thinking.  I just prefer to deal with the reality of the situation. With that said, today's been a really crappy day.  I've had worse days but I've also had much, much better ones as well. I don't always cope well either. When things get really bad, I stress eat and watch TV.  I've never been a really big drinker so I'm not  much into, that but give me some ice cream and a few hours of Supernatural on Netflix and I'm drowning my sorrows.  I've also been craving Chipoltle as well.  One of their giant, double steak burritos sounds absolutely amazing right…

I wanted to take a minute and say something to anyone out there, particularly in the Autism/Special Needs community, that may be going through a hard time.  You aren't alone.  Life has a way of seemingly kicking us while we're already down.  This is something that my family has been struggling with for a very long time.  It seems that some days are better than others.  It's important that you remember that you aren't alone in your struggles.  I'm right there with you.  I know that doesn't help remove your burden but perhaps it will help with the feelings of isolation and despair. Personally, I'm quite familiar with these feelings. Just rememeber that there are a lot of us out here that are pulling for you.  Keep your chin up…

Gavin had a pretty rough day.  He's been struggling quite a bit and not necessarily just behaviorally. He's made some really good choices recently, as well as some not so good ones.  I think we ended up having two tantrums today.  Nothing catastrophic but enough to disrupt everyone. The other thing we have been noticing is that he's becoming more and more uncoordinated. He's walking into things and knocking things over as he walks by.  Today alone, he knocked his water bottle over at least half a dozen times, spilling it onto the floor. His movements are becoming quicker and more clumsy. This is really frustrating for him. All we can do is remind him to slow down, so we can limit the accidents and avoid him or anyone else…