Emmett John Archives - Page 19 of 85

Nose bleeds and tummy aches

It's gonna be a long trick or treat weekend. Both boys are home from school but for different reasons. Elliott went to bed not feeling well and woke up not feeling any better. His stomach is upset.be his nose is really dry and that's what behind this. Once we get this under control, I probably get him a saline nose spray. Emmett on the other hand is feeling okay but is getting nose bleeds and they take awhile to get them to stop. This actually first happened a couple of days ago and it started again this morning. Emmett woke me up about 6 AM, so I could help him. He's not doing anything to cause them. They just sorta happen. I'm thinking maybe his nose is really dry and…

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October 26, 2018

Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / My thoughts

Emmett had a great time

Emmett had an amazing time at his friend's birthday party today. It was at Chuck E Cheese and while it's not very adult friendly, the kids loved it. ☺ I hung out the entire time and met some the parents. They were all super nice and it helped to offset the fact it was at Chuck E Cheese.. Lol This is a not a sensory friendly place by any stretch of the imagination. I know Emmett will likely experience some fallout but at least he had fun. I don't have sensory processing disorder and it's overwhelming for me. I can only imagine what it's like for those that do. Anyway, it was largely positive experience and we need more of those in our life. ☺

3 Comments

October 20, 2018

Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / My thoughts

Emmett has another birthday party today

This is the second Saturday in a row that Emmett has a birthday party to attend. I'm thrilled that he's got the opportunity but two weekends in a row is a bit much. 😜 This afternoon he has one of his best friends party and it's at Chuck E Cheese. It'll be just Emmett and I because this is way too loud for Lizze. I'm not personally a huge fan of the noise and the crowds but I don't have a constant migraine or severe social anxiety. Hopefully, this will be fun for Emmett and his friend. I'm so happy that he's able to do this but I not so happy about the inevitable overstimlation and meltdowns that will follow. Par for the course I suppose. ☺

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October 20, 2018

Autism Parenting Insight / Elliott / Emmett John / Gavin / My thoughts

The heartbreaking reality of parenting an adult child

Being a parent isn't easy. I don't think anyone would argue that statement. Being a special needs parents it's without a doubt, the most difficult endeavor of my entire life. We are facing a very difficult reality right now with our oldest, Gavin. Gavin's going to be 19 in a few months and we're still adjusting to him being an adult. My goodness, does that make me feel old. I've been raising Gavin as my own since he was about 15 months old. I legally adopted him many years ago and that was a moment I will never forget. I'll always look back on the day we went to court to make things final, as a blessing and a truly amazing experience. My personal journey with Gavin has brought me…

6 Comments

September 23, 2018

Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / Feeding Problems / My thoughts / Sensory

It’s so hard to feed my kids with #Autism

We're having a really hard time finding food that Emmett will eat, especially while at school. He's never eaten the school lunches because he's incredibly sensory oriented. It just won't ever happen and that's okay. The problem is that's it's become increasingly more difficult to find things we can pack in his lunch, that he'll actually eat. We've had temporary successes but nothing ever really lasts for too long. Once he stops eating something, he'll likely never touch it again. It's important to understand that this isn't him being picky. This is something he has no control over and while we try to work with and encourage him to try new things, there isn't a great deal we can do but keep trying. The difference between a picky eater and…

3 Comments

September 21, 2018

Emmett John / My thoughts / School

This is why my youngest with #Autism begged us to pull him out of his school

Tonight, I'm just going to get into what happened at the school to make Emmett want us to pull him out. I'm too tired to deal with all the Cleveland Clinic stuff tonight as well. I'll get to that a bit later. As the school year enters its forth week, we've noticed Emmett is becoming increasingly more distressed. His tummy aches are back and he's not wanting to go to school. We didn't know there was a specific something going on that was causing these issues. Emmett's no stranger to tummy aches in the morning and while it's generally a sign that he's stressed out, the cause of that stress could literally be anything. More often than not, he's never able to tell us what's bothering him and it takes…

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September 20, 2018

Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / Meltdowns / My thoughts

Meltdowns and mayhem led to an incrediblely touching gesture

This morning has been a total disaster. Mr. Emmett woke up in a mood that can only be described as unfortunate. He woke up at one point last night and wanted to crawl into our bed but we got him back into his instead. Maybe he had nightmares again and that's what had him in such a horrible, outwardly aggressive mood. Elliott and Gavin were both the targets of Emmett's verbal wrath at one point or another. Both seemed to understand that Emmett was having a rough time and didn't react in a retaliatory manner. Very proud of them for that. I intervened, correcting Emmett when he lashed out but as most Autism parents can relate to, it's a very fine line between correcting behavior and escalating an already volatile…

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September 17, 2018

Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / My thoughts

This is just 1 example of why being an #Autism parent is so exhausting

Today's been a nightmare. I didn't sleep last night and that certainly doesn't help things at all. Gavin had a doctor's appointment this morning, right after the kids needed to be at school. Unfortunately, Emmett woke up with a tummy ache, which usually is the result of some underlying stress. It's nearly impossible to weed through everything with him and figure out what's going on beneath the surface because he struggles with self-awareness. What I mean by that and perhaps I used the wrong term, is that he's not able to tell you what's upsetting him, how he's feeling or what he needs, especially when he's upset. It's very challenging because Emmett is can be very insightful when it comes to other people and their feelings but he's often unable…

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September 10, 2018