At 6pm this evening, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will be closing its doors to the general public and opening them up to the special needs community.  The Cleveland Zoo is working with area Children's Hospitals, including Akron Children's Hospital, to provide special needs children with an evening at the Zoo.  This event will be better for these children and their families because there will be fewer people and everyone that's there will be someone that understands. The Lost and Tired family will be in attendance and I for one can't wait.  The boys are really, really excited. I'm not sure how Lizze is going to handle this but she's really excited as well. This is her baby and she's planned and coordinated everything for us.  We will be accompanied by…

This is a really good example of some of the everyday challenges, facing families like mine.  We have three boys on the Autism spectrum and each with various sensory related challenges. Every mealtime is a challenge because each one of my boys not only have different tastes but also food related challenges. Between texture/color/smell sensitivities, feeding everyone without buying pizza, is very challenging. What's your mealtime experience? 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

Lizze and I had just fallen asleep when gunshots broke out.  I'm not sure where they were coming from but it sounded like it was on the south side of our house.  We sleep right next to a window so it's hard not to hear these things when they happen.  I hope no one was hurt. While this is a fairly common event where we live, it's been a little while since the last time I heard gunshots this close to my house. It's scary and now I'll probably have f&#ked up dreams tonight.  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

Today went fairly well.  Gavin actually did great today and I'm really proud of him because I know that's not easy. Gavin is still manic and so the talking is really, really beginning to drive us crazy.  However, it's not his fault and so we really try to be mindful of that, even when we're losing our minds.  Elliott and Emmett were on what seemed like a hunger strike.  They complained all day about being hungry but wouldn't eat anything they were given.  All day today, I've been  saying, please God, let this be a phase. I don't know if it's a phase or not but hopefully it will soon pass. Lizze has been in a pretty rough place this week but she's a fighter and never gives up. Everyday…

I asked this question on Facebook this afternoon and had a really interesting response.  I thought I would ask it here as well because there are many more people that read this site, than do my Facebook page. Here's my question.  Are you finding that either yourself, as an Autistic adult or parent to an Autistic child, still being judged or ridiculed by society? Do you find that people are more accepting and understanding than before? Essentially, this will give us an idea of what to focus on when trying to educate the public.  I'm likely to start working with the Autism Society in Ohio and this could help me to better understand what you and your family is experiencing. Personally, I'm finding that it's kind of a mixed bag. …

I'm actually getting to sneak out this evening and go walking.  Even better, I get to walk with my Mom, which is always nice.  Thank you so much Lizze for making this happen for me.  I'll be done in about an hour and should find myself pretty centered as well.  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's been hard at work creating his latest masterpiece or rather masterpieces.  Check these out.  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

Lizze is down for the count again today. It's me and the boys, just hanging out.  It's pretty challenging to maintain the level of supervision we need to, especially when I'm by myself. Thankfully, aside from incessantly talking, Gavin's doing pretty well today.  He's been making really good decisions. I'm really tired all of a sudden but I think it's because the two youngest are snuggling me and draining all my energy. 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