We suspect our son with #Autism is being bullied at school and here’s how we’re handling it

We've spent a bit of time speaking with Elliott this weekend. It would be fair to say this has been a rough couple of days for him. It's pretty obvious that something is upsetting him but getting to the bottom of what that is can be tricky. Elliott will list things that bother him but they aren't necessarily what's bothering him. Does that make sense? Long story short, while we were discussing going to the after school program in December, Elliott mentioned that he's getting picked on at school. This wouldn't be the first time we've heard this but it's really the first time that I'm beginning to suspect that there's more going on than we are aware of. Elliott's a really sensitive kid and so he can take an otherwise innocuous comment…

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Could he be anymore hyper?

Do you ever have those mornings where your kids are hyper and fuck? I'm definitely having one of those mornings today. The guilty party is Mr. Elliott and this kid is bouncing off the walls and anything else that has a solid surface. I've often wondered why some mornings he wakes up super calm and other mornings he just can't sit still. I know ADHD is a factor but there doesn't seem to be any correlation. So far this morning, Elliott's been jumping on and off the couches, talking incessantly, kicking his feet in the air and just about every other stereotypical hyperactive behavior you can think of. Maybe he didn't sleep well last night. Perhaps it's fallout from the holiday weekend or maybe this is just a biochemical thing. What I…

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Encourageing creativity 

Elliott spent some time being creative this afternoon and that's something we strongly encourage.  He took mismatched Lego pieces, parts from a few other things and used them to create his own replica of BT and his Pilot from Titanfall 2.  This is pretty darn creative and I'm really proud to see him do something other than play video games or his tablet.   Awesome job Elliott. 

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DON’T MISS: Important Update on Elliott and Emmett

It's time to play a little game called catch up. When we met with Dr. Reynolds last week, we also made some decisions about Elliott and Emmett. Unfortunately, I got tunnel vision with all that was happening to Gavin that I never got around to this.  After speaking with Dr. Reynolds about both Elliott and Emmett, it was decided that we would be removing all of the medications, with the exception of their ADHD meds. There were several reasons for this but the main one is that the medications don't appear to be doing anything.  Over the next 15 days, we will be weaning them off of these meds as per Dr. Reynolds instructions. I don't expect to see any negative changes in behaviors as a result. There is a very…

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Today’s Victory: One big reason I’m proud of my son

I want to take a few minutes and share how proud I am of Elliott. I'm proud of all my kids, sometimes for different reasons but those reasons are endless.  Today I want to talk about how Elliott has overcome something that he wanted nothing to do with.  We had signed the boys up for the after school program, at Emmett's request. After talking to Dr. Pattie, it was decided that it was best to make Elliott participate as well because he needs and would benefit from the experience.  Elliott was very, very against this and didn't shy away from telling us all about it.  Having now gone three or four times, he's now actually enjoying himself and while he won't admit it, he wants to keep going.  I'm so…

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I never expect perfection from my kids

I picked Elliott up from school and rather than go straight home, we had to run a few errands. Typically, Elliott doesn't do well with these types of unplanned excursions.  That being said, he took this in stride.  I'm really proud of him because he did really good and while there was a few tiny hiccups along the way, he kept himself in control.  I never, ever look for or expect perfection from my any of my kids because they aren't perfect and neither am I. Great job Elliott, you did really awesome today while we had to do our running around. 

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We had a really good morning but….. 

I have to give props to Elliott because he did an amazing job in regards to getting ready for school. More often than not, Elliott struggles in the morning. He tends not to cooperate and usually drags his feet.  Like I said, this morning was very different and I'm so proud of him. ☺  Unfortunately, that's where the good news ends because I have a sick kiddo home from school in the form of Mr. Emmett. He woke up with his tummy still upset.  Last night before bed, Lizze and I agreed that if he woke up not feeling well, we weren't going to push him.  I took Elliott to school and Emmett stayed in bed. As the morning goes on though, he does seem to feel a little bit…

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