Lockdown Archives - The Autism Dad

I received the 1st dose of the Moderna #vaccine and this information can help you

Well it's been an eventful couple of days. I'm in a really good place and there's a couple of reasons for that but for this post, I just want to focus on one in particular. I believe in karma, I'd like to anyway. I feel like you get back from the Universe what you put out into it and I have a perfect example to share. On Friday evening, someone reached out to me on Twitter and asked if I would help them spread a message that I truly believe in. Basically it was speaking to the facts about the COVID vaccine and why it's so important that everyone gets it. I don't hide my views on this and I was happy to help any way I could. I was…

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March 14, 2021

COVID19 / Gavin / Lockdown / My thoughts / Planning / Vaccines

Gavin gets his final dose of the #COVID #vaccine today

It's gonna be a hectic day. I have a two hour meeting after lunch and it should finish up just in time for me to get Gavin to the health department for his second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine. I'm a little concerned about how Gavin is going to handle the side effects. More than that, I'm concerned about how severe the side effects will be for him because of all his health issues. The vaccine is absolutely vital for him and I'm not worried about its safety at all. Most people experience side effects, which is expected. I just don't know how they will impact him, personally. Gavin decided to do his IVIG infusion a day early so he wasn't putting too much strain on his body today.…

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February 19, 2021

COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts

Update: It’s been 234 days of #COVID lockdown so far

Life is getting a bit more challenging. For those who don't know, COVID is significantly worsening in Ohio. As of writing, we're a stone's throw away from 3,000 cases a day. There's a nursing home about a mile or so from my house with over 80 confirmed cases. It's really getting scary. My cars still in the shop and will be for a couple of weeks. That's a bit stressful because we truly are trapped at home. It's not like we would be going anywhere, especially since COVID is so bad locally, but looking out the window and seeing the car missing is an emotional blow. Maybe that doesn't make sense.. I've been insanely busy with work related things lately. I'm trying to get season 3 of the podcast finished…

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October 25, 2020

COVID19 / Link / Lockdown / My thoughts

It’s been a heartbreaking day

Remote learning is like a fucking emotional roller-coaster for everyone involved, but especially for our kiddos on the autism spectrum. We have had our ups and downs but today was a particularly challenging. I stopped working today, which is hugely problematic, in order to help Emmett navigate his schoolwork. For some reason, he was completely overwhelmed by the tasks on the screen before him. There's a million reasons he's overwhelmed but I don't know what pushed him over the edge today. How many of you out there have seen similar with your own kids lately? It's currently 3pm and I've been trying to help him work through his anxiety, frustration and whatever else he's feeling that I can't see on the surface, all day now. Remote learning is a necessary…

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October 6, 2020

COVID19 / Link / Lockdown / My thoughts / Remote Learning / School

Remote learning is going okay but I’m maintaining perspective

Moving on.... So we had a pretty decent day today. Elliott had to get his Chromebook swapped out, so Lizze and her Mom picked that up and took care of that for us. That was super helpful and I'm grateful. School is going better and the boys are starting to get into something that when you squint, sorta resembles a routine. At best, it's a bastardized routine but progress is progress. I'm not going to apologize for letting my kids be comfortable while they're learning. This whole thing is a nightmare and I have zero concerns about them chilling on the couch, bed or anywhere else that makes learning a positive thing. As long as the kids are appropriately dressed, in good lighting and they're teachers are happy with their…

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October 2, 2020

COVID19 / Emmett John / Lockdown / My thoughts

Shoe shopping online for my #autistic son

Let me just start by saying that I hate shoe shopping for Emmett, even in the most perfect of circumstances. I love Emmett to the moon and back. The issue is not that I don't want to spend the time or money, it's that sensory processing disorder makes finding things like shoes, socks and clothes difficult at times. Although, as he gets older, he's doing so much better. It can still be frustrating though, for both of us. I've talked about this a million times before but people suffering from SPD, and I use the word suffering on purpose, face challenges that the rest of us can't even imagine. In Emmett's case, he's very sensitive to things like texture, taste and smell. He doesn't like the feeling of clothes on…

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September 20, 2020

COVID19 / Distance Learning / Lockdown / My thoughts / Planning / School

We persevered this week

It's been a crazy stressful week but I'm so proud of how we persevered. The boys ultimately made it through their first week of distance learning and even exceeded their hours for the week. Their experience has been improving and while Elliott is still having technical issues, Emmett seems to be experiencing fewer. For the most part, we tried keeping to their previous school schedule but it didn't always work. What I've found was that giving the boys a little freedom over how their day is managed, seems to motivate them. Obviously, I can't let them loose but if they start at 10am instead of 9am, who cares. As long as they complete their work, that's all that matters. One of the coolest things about distance learning is that if…

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August 22, 2020

COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts / Planning

It’s grocery day

Today is grocery day in The Autism Dad household. It's everyone's favorite day of the week for obvious reasons. I try to time grocery delivery for once every week or week and a half. It's tough to keep groceries in the house but I manage. I want to give a huge shout-out to all of the delivery people who make this possible for my family and all the other families out there like mine. I'm so grateful for everything.

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August 21, 2020