The boys have returned home. My family is once again complete and all under the same roof. Elliott and Emmett are playing on the iPad and Gavin had a snack and went to bed.  Gavin will probably be sleeping for most of the afternoon, as is the norm for him lately. Lizze is sleeping as well because she was up until 5am this morning.  Her frenemy, menopause had her up all night with hot flashes.....again.  This really sucks because it was one night that we didn't have to worry about the kids and she could get some rest and it didn't happen.  My goal is to get some things done around the house today.  It's nice to have the kids home.  This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for…

I wanted to share that the My Autism Help app is new and improved. You can find it here for Android.  I have the same app for iOS but I can't afford to put it on the App Store st the moment.  The Android version is totally free, as is the iOS version when it launches. This new version is running on Tapatalk v4 and it's awesome.  This app will not only allow you to use the My Autism Help Forums, but also read the Lost and Tired blog, although I don't think you can comment on the blog from this app.  Anyway, this app is my gift to my readers and forum users.  It's donated by Tapatalk and I'm really great fun for that.  Download the My Autism Help…

If there was ever one thing that seems to be pretty consistent amongst kids on the Autism spectrum, it's the fact that many kids like to line things up. How many of you, during the course of the day have random encounters with objects all lined up, nice and neatly? We see this in our house quite often. Typically we see this with things like blocks, Matchbox/Hot wheels cars, Legos and little action figures.  On occasion, we see random items in a nice neat line as well. I found this on the window sill yesterday.  Finding this stuff always makes me smile.  It's one of those things that let's me know where the boys have been. :-) This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos…

I wanted to let everyone know that my goal going forward is to simply ignore those people that are negative.  I'm not just talking a difference of opinion either.  Everyone has a right to their own opinion and I respect that. What I'm referring to are those people that have it in there head that I'm a bad person and a terrible parent.  These people simply don't understand what's going on and are either taking things out of context or simply not bothering to read more in depth before posting their negative feedback.  These comments are pretty easy to spot because they are usually focused on the same thing, regardless of whether or not it's relavent to the topic being discussed. It's like a scratched record. This probably happens to…

Gavin had a totally awesome day today. He's been making really good choices and has been a big help around the house. I fully expect that we'll have our share of bad days but that will just make the good ones even better. Right now Gavin's in a pretty good place. He's still every bit as psychotic as he's ever been but it's not very dark and it's relatively non-violent. He's also doing his best to contain his visibly challenged friends to his room. They don't always listen to him but he's trying and I give him all the credit in the world. Lizze and I are both really proud of him. We always try to make sure he knows that as well. He hasn't had a major tantrum in…

Lizze and I have had a whole evening to ourselves. This almost never happens but it did tonight. We won't even have kids again until sometime Saturday and we have Lizze's parents to thank for this.  We were able to get out for a little while tonight and forgot about all the stress and impossible situations that await us at home.Normal is a very subjective term. Having said that, sometimes it's nice to feel normal, just for a little while. It's nice to go out and spend time with my wife.  It's sorta like recharging the soul and gaining the strength to move forward. With any luck, we'll make it through the whole night and some of tomorrow before the boys return. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids…

I wanted to touch base with all of you and let you know that I'm still here.  :-) Normally I write more often than this but today has been a challenging one.  It's nothing we can't handle though. We had some people try to bring us down but Lizze and I aren't going to let that happen.  Here's the thing.  There will always be people that will try to bring you down. When you're in a position like I am and many of you are, it's easy the take those things to heart because we already feel needless guilt for a million different reasons.  It's all part of the special needs parenting package. I chose to just rock on with what I'm doing because regardless of what anyone says or…