This is why we have to watch Gavin so closely around food

Gavin's not feeling so well. It began last night with him overeating at the cookout. Gavin has never been one with a functional ability to self-regulate. As an example, he doesn't ever really feel full when he eats. What happens is he will eat too much and end up making himself sick. He's been doing better over the last few years because we've been trying to create habits for him to help compensate for what his brain doesn't do correctly on its own. Unfortunately, we still have times where Gavin will eat and eat and eat, until he makes himself sick. Last night was a perfect example. When we're at home, it's much easier to monitor what he eats but when we're somewhere else, it's much more challenging. We dropped…

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I hate seeing him upset like this

It's been a rough evening thus far, and it's only 6:30 PM. Gavin has had several freak outs since we've been home. A freak out is not the same thing as a meltdown because they typically don't last as long. Basically, this is what we call it when Gavin gets really upset over something and begins hitting himself or comforting his body. These things can occur during a meltdown as well but meltdowns typically involve screaming and a significant amount of emotional purging. When Gavin freaks out, it's usually because he's pissed off or frustrated over something. These incidents didn't last more than a couple minutes a piece but those few minutes are exhausting because we never really know what's going to happen. The reason he was freaking out was…

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I’m so tired of fricking #meltdowns

There isn't anything I know of that can prepare some for the reality of Autism related Meltdowns. They're awful for everyone involved, especially the person physically experiencing one. At this point in time, Emmett is the defacto meltdown maker in our house. Gavin's making a comeback and that's incredibly unfortunate because he presents with many safety issues. Emmett is having another meltdown right now. It began the moment he climbed into the car and has continued since we've been home. Lizze has tagged in and taken over so I can collect myself before re-engaging. I don't know what really triggered this. It could simply be that his day has taken a great deal out of him. It could be sensory overload or nothing at all. Meltdowns are the bodies way…

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Rough Night

We all had a great day yesterday but it might have been a bit too exciting for Elliott. Elliott and Emmett were both bouncing off the walls last night and we had a terrible time settling them down. Bedtime was quite difficult because they were so overstimulated by all the excitement. It was so bad that Elliott never fell asleep last night. He tried and was on Melatonin but he was too amped up to shutdown. I was up with him until almost 4 AM but finally passed out shortly after. It's going to be a really long day because Elliott will likely have a rough day because he's beyond tired. Thankfully, he's in a decent mood. I suppose it's all about the little things today..

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I’m so fricking stressed out this morning

The boys are supposed to be in a run this afternoon and I'm not sure what we're doing at this point. It's currently 40°F and it's been raining all night. The roads are drying up at this point but it's still very cold out. Everything was free so it's not like we're losing any money. I'm worried for a couple reasons. Emmett doesn't like getting his feet wet Emmett will only wear crocs and no socks It's cold, cloudy and raining on and off Elliott cannot find his wind pants If Emmett's feet get wet, it's going to get ugly There are a few people coming with us and I don't want to cancel at the last minute because we're holding out hope for something that's not practical At the…

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How #Autism can complicate even the little things

What follows is an example of how complicated Autism can make things at times and lengths we must go to work through these complications.. The Autism Dad household is full of nerds. We love video games, science and especially Marvel Comics. It's only natural that we are drawn to the Marvel Universe films and we are.. This all took place on Thursday (yesterday). I thought it would be nice to surprise the kids by taking them to see the new Avengers movie on opening day. I went ahead and ordered tickets for Friday at 3:45 PM. On the way home from school yesterday, it occurred to me that surpring them may not be the best idea, especially when it comes to Emmett. With that in mind, I told the kids…

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My oldest son with #Autism is really trying my patience

I'm not going to mince words here. Gavin is driving me crazy and there's no end in sight. He's eighteen years old on the outside and about six years old on the inside. This large age gap between his emotional age and his chronological age has always been problematic. As he gets older, it's becoming more obvious and increasingly frustrating. Gavin's a great kid. He loves his family to the best of his ability, always looking to help around the house and he never gives up or complains about his lot in life. I've raised him as my own since he was about fifteen months old and I see him no differently than I do Elliott or Emmett. Unfortunately, it's getting harder and harder to overlook some of the behaviors…

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My kids with #Autism never fell asleep last night

It's been the longest night ever, well at least recently anyway. For the second night in a row, Elliott hasn't slept. Monday going into Tuesday, I think he got about two hours and that's it. He did okay at school the following day but last night was really rough. This time however, Emmett was awake to join him. Elliott never went to bed but Emmett woke up from a nightmare and was too afraid to go back to sleep. When 7 AM rolled around this morning, they were both so exhausted that there was no way we could send them to school. They would be setup to fail and that's not the right move. Both boys went to bed and are currently sleeping. Our goal is for them to make…

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