On Monday, I had beakfast with Gavin at his school. Gavin was really excited about this. We had pancakes and juice. Good times were had by all. It was nice to spend some 1 on 1 time with Gavin, as that doesn't happen very often. The only problem was that we had to eat them with sporks. That was a challange to say the least. I was really nice of the school to put this together for everyone.  

We had the boys to the pediatrician this afternoon. We made had several appointments in a row so we had to bring everyone. Needless to say it was a long day, especially for the boys. Emmett NEVER leaves to go any where without his "Android4Autism" device. So while we waited he practiced drawing shapes, created his own story and played memory. However, the most entertaining moments were when he decided to start taking pictures of everyone in the room. He totally did this on his own and took dozens of pictures and some video. He would say, "Elliott smile", "Gavin smile" and "mommy smile" as he took their pictures. I shot some video of this cause it was really cute and I was actually impressed that he has figured all this out…

With everything going on right now I forgot to bring this up. Last week Emmett's therapists told us that she thinks Emmett may be a savant. While significantly language and speech delayed, Emmett is simply absorbing everything else. He is learning very rapidly and remembering almost everything. I'm not quite sure what to think about this. Although, I will say that aside from speech and language, it's like Emmett just "woke up", if that makes sense. It will be interesting to see where he is when we go back to see the developmental neurologist for a follow up. Emotionally, Emmett is still behind but his intelligence is simply amazing (as we keep hearing from the people evaluating him). Anyway, I just thought I would share that with you all. Does anyone…

So this was brought up in an earlier post. Should Autism and Aspergers be separate disorders? There is a growing movement to make Aspergers Syndrome a separate disorder from Autism. I believe that at some point it will most likely happen. The logic behind it is that Autism and Aspergers may share similar traits they are profoundly different. I think it causes a lot of confusion and misunderstanding within the community. As a father to 3 boys across the spectrum I can honestly say that there is a HUGE difference between Autism and Aspergers. Parenting a child with Autism is so profoundly different from parenting a child with Aspergers. So we're clear, I'm NOT saying that raising a child with Aspergers is in any way easy....because it's NOT. I think that the…

As parents to 3 special needs boys we have made many sacrifices along the way. We have also had to set limits because our kids are so VERY easily overwhelmed and overstimulated. However, at the same time we have to be careful that in our attempt to shield our kids from things that will most likely cause them distress, we aren't robbing them of valuable life experience. As a special needs parent, this is something that I struggle with...fairly often. With 3 kids on the spectrum and a wife w/ Aspereger's and various other health problems, we have, over time, learned to avoid situations that could "rock the boat". This is honestly more of a survival technique we have employed as a means of avoiding the destabilizing fallout from these potentially overwhelming…

"There is a fine line between NOT putting your child in an unfair situation and ROBBING them of life's experience."

I came into contact with a parent of an Autistic child recently. We were sorta "debating" about Autism and Aspergers related issues and whether or not these children can be successful. This person firmly believes that there are NO successful people in the world with Autism (excluding those with Aspergers but even then their not sure). I find that statement very disturbing, even though I don't believe it to be true. So it got me thinking, does Autism mean unsuccessful? Success is a relative term but If you actually believe that there are NO successful people in the world with Autism, isn't that like saying Emmett will never amount to anything? If that's the case then I really take issue with this. I don't know what this persons life is…

Okay, I'll be really honest, hieghts make me a bit nervous. Kinda ironic as my previous career was a firefighter/paramedic. Having to climb tall ladders was part of the job but it's much different if someone's life depends on you climbing that ladder. The psych unit at Akron Children's  is on the eighth floor and the problem I have with that is that the elevator is glass or open. Meaning you see eveything. I'm not super fond of that evevator trip. It does kinda freak me a out a little because when you actually see the ground coming up fast it feels like the elevator isn't slowing down fast enough. I know....pretty sad..right? Sure, but this video makes it look MUCH slower then it actually is....I swear. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD258grCrOE[/youtube]