Read more about the article We had some excitement today
Emmett John / Gavin / My thoughts

We had some excitement today

We've had some excitement in The Autism Dad household today/yesterday, depending on when you read this. ☺ The boys got off to school without a problem. Lizze got her tooth fixed. She had a broken filling that needed repaired/replaced. She did awesome but it wasn't pleasant. Lizze's Mom took the boys after school to bake cookies and we had a bit of time to ourselves to work on some Christmas related things. That sorta sums up the day and now I want to briefly share the exciting parts. Maybe this isn't exciting, so much as it's a proud parenting moment. Gavin's been slowly weening off his reflux medication and he went from 2 times a day to only once a day. He remembered almost every day to remove his pill…

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December 20, 2018
Read more about the article It’s official!!!
Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts

It’s official!!!

It's been many years since Gavin began taking Clozapine been and roughly 2 years since Gavin began having issues with his blood work, that had a significant impact on how he received refills of his most important medication. Clozapine is an antipsychotic and is one of the most tightly controlled medications in the US. Clozapine is used to treat Gavin's Schizophrenia and its been largely effective at helping to at least reduce his auditory and visual hallucinations. It's not perfect and the medication is controlled because of its inherent danger but when closely monitored, it's actually very safe. There's a process for taking Clozapine and receiving refills. Gavin had to have blood work once a week in order to receive his next 7 days worth of pills. The labs are…

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December 16, 2018
Read more about the article Gavin got some great news today
Gavin / My thoughts

Gavin got some great news today

Gavin's psych appointment went pretty well. The main focus was on his increasing levels of frustration and his intolerance when it comes to him making mistakes. Dr. Reynolds and I were both very impressed with Gavin's ability to express himself today. It was a bit repetitive and difficult to follow but he maintained his composure. He explained why he thought he was getting so frustrated and all things considered, he did a kickass job of doing so. We have some things we need to work on with him but that's just all part and parcel of being Gavin's parents. We also got some really good news. We might finally be able to push his labwork back to once a month. This would also mean that he would finally be able…

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December 11, 2018
Read more about the article A quick update before I try to go to sleep
Cleveland Clinic / Gavin / My thoughts / Radiology

A quick update before I try to go to sleep

It's been a crazy long day and tomorrow is going to be even worse, at least for me. I'll talk about that in the coming days. For now, I wanted to let you guys know how Gavin's MRI went. Gavin is typically super cooperative but can still be difficult to work with. He doesn't do a great deal of thinking for himself and he struggles with following directions, mostly because he simply gets confused. By all accounts, he did amazing this afternoon at Akron General. His MRI took about an hour or so and I wasn't allowed in the observation room or wherever the techs sat during the MRI. I had a chair in the hallway and I waited outside the door. It was fine because I was there if…

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December 6, 2018