Read more about the article Never Give Up
Inspirational Posts

Never Give Up

Life isn't easy on the best of days, let alone the rest. I know how hard it can be to continue moving forward when things get so overwhelming that it's hard to think straight. I've been there so many times, I should just by property and build a second house.  Unfortunately, this is just the way it is sometimes, and there isn't anything we can do about it.  The reality is, we're all going to have good days/weeks/months or even years, as well as bad ones. It's part of being human.  When you toss in things like Autism or any other form of mental/physical health challenges, life becomes even more challenging than before.  All we can do is take care of ourselves, our kids, utilize any available help, and trust…

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July 22, 2017
Read more about the article Understanding a devastating #meltdown from start to finish 
Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / Insights and Education / Inspirational Posts / Meltdowns / My thoughts

Understanding a devastating #meltdown from start to finish 

My goal with this post is to help you understand the meltdown process from start to finish. I'm hoping to reinforce that meltdowns are not behavioral problems. Meltdowns do not require discipline and aren't indicative or bad parenting or a bad child. I am using an example that happened in our lives recently, to help you better understand meltdowns.  We went to the grocery store in order for Emmett to pick out his birthday cake. It was a momentary lapse in judgment, and believe me, I paid the price for it. In truth, Lizze, Emmett, and I paid a price for it.  The store had tons of ice cream cakes, but the only white or yellow cakes had a graduation theme. The theme was only plastic decorations that could be…

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July 2, 2017
Read more about the article Father’s Day is more than just ties and cookouts
Inspirational Posts

Father’s Day is more than just ties and cookouts

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there, pulling their weight and actively involved in their kids lives. I also want to say Happy Father's Day to all the single Mom's out there pulling double duty and filling the role of both parents. I have nothing but respect and admiration for you. :-) I know Father's Day is a day where we celebrate Dad's. There might be presents or cookouts, and those are awesome, but I ask that you keep something else in mind as well. Father's Day should also be a day that we as Dad's, remember how important of a role we play in the lives of our children. It's so important to be present. It's equally important that you be actively involved, a good leader,…

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June 18, 2017
Read more about the article How Autism related meltdowns impact me as a parent, and how I cope
Emmett John / Insights and Education / Inspirational Posts / Meltdowns / My thoughts

How Autism related meltdowns impact me as a parent, and how I cope

One of the hardest parts of being an Autism parent for me this week so far, is meltdowns. When it comes to Autism, I always tell people never make assumptions. Having said that, I feel pretty safe saying, if you're an Autism parent, you're probably intimately acquainted with meltdowns.  Meltdowns are exhausting for everyone, not just the person having one.  I mentioned earlier in the week that Emmett was coming into a new fever cycle. When he hits one of these things, he's generally quite miserable, and far more prone to meltdowns.  The fever cycles don't cause the meltdowns directly. They seem to decrease his ability to cope with all the things around him, that would already lead to a meltdown. Things like light, sound, his clothes, and pretty much…

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June 8, 2017
Read more about the article #Autism Parenting Insight – When #SpecialNeeds families have to make difficult decisions 
Autism Parenting Insight / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

#Autism Parenting Insight – When #SpecialNeeds families have to make difficult decisions 

I wanted to update you on what we decided to do, in regards to our family cookout, and why. The reason it's important to share this experience is because special needs families face these kinds of decisions all the time. Circumstances will vary, but the need to make a difficult decision, that will undoubtedly leave some people upset, is very common.  I can't stress enough, how often we live our lives minute to minute. When we're dealing with various chronic health issues, things pop up all the time.  My goal is to provide some insight into why we made the decision we did in this particular situation.  After a long, sleepless night with Mr. Emmett, Lizze and I made our decision not to go. We decided to err on the…

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June 4, 2017
Read more about the article Why I hate #meltdowns
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Why I hate #meltdowns

From a purely self-centeric perspective, I fucking hate meltdowns. Did I say I hate meltdowns, because I fucking hate meltdowns. I have had all the screaming I can take today.  My God, it's been one meltdown after another today, and I'm trying to put into words what that does to me as a parent.  I understand meltdowns, and I know that they are outside of a person's control. My kids are no exception to that rule. They don't have meltdowns because it's fun for them to experience one. They have them because their bodies reach a point where there's no choice but to purge.  Meltdowns aren't fun for anyone, especially the person having them.  With all that said, I think it's so important that we not discount what a parent or…

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May 31, 2017