The blink of an eye: Autism and aggression

~Autism and aggression~ I have blogged many times about the injuries we deal with as a result of meltdowns and rages associated with Autism. Right now the main aggressor in the house is Emmett. Gavin is by far the most violent but as of late he only "attacks" himself. Emmett on the other hand typically goes after Lizze and Elliott. No one knows exactly why that is but there are schools of thought. It's most likely due to the frustration of not being able to effectively communicate. If that's true then why is it typically Lizze and Elliott that get "attacked"? Often times these "attacks" are completely unprovoked and seemingly come out of nowhere. Sometimes the injuries are pretty bad. Lizze gets cuts on her face and neck. Elliott gets…

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We are FINALLY getting out……

Thanks to both sets of grandparents for taking the boys for a bit tomorrow. I'm taking Lizze out to a movie for Mother's Day. I know it's not really anything special but I just want her to get a break from all the stress. I also just want to send some ALONE time with my best friend. She has yet to decide on a movie but I'm sure she'll figure that out. Lizze and I never get time to just be together and be away from the kids. Please don't get me wrong, I love my kids and would rather be with them then away from them. However, our lives are EXTREMELY stressful and sometimes it's important for Lizze and I to get away. We have been doing this for…

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Progression and regression: The ebb and flow of Autism

~Progression and regression: The ebb and flow of Autism~ Gavin is......driving me crazy. I know, short trip.....right? I don't think people understand just how completely overwhelming Autism can actually be. Even kids with Aspergers are very challenging. Gavin has a whole lot more going on then most kids so the "challenging" part of raising him is compounded. Lately Gavin has really been struggling at least at home. Apparently he's perfect at school.....don't get me started on that. Gavin's memory has become much like a slip'n slide. Thoughts, ideas and just about everything else he visually and verbally takes in just slips right back out never to be seen or heard from again. I'm acutely aware that this isn't his fault but I'm human and it really gets old after a while.…

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Amazing moments in Autism…..

~Autism and the "little things"~ What may seem like nothing significant to most people is in fact a great accomplishment for Emmett. I was playing the game, "I got your nose" with Emmett the other day. It was kinda funny but I didn't think anything of it. Today however, I realized that it was a pretty big deal and here's why. Emmett climbed up on the couch with me and reached over and "took my nose". He then said "I got your nose". Most people would say big deal he said "I got your nose". It's a HUGE deal because this is the first time in his entire life that he has strung 4 words together. It may not have been "I love you Daddy" or "Mommy, I love you"…

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Progress in pottyville

We made some more progress today with potty training Emmett. He wanted to wear his little Finding Nemo underwear this afternoon. He didn't have any accidents. He almost has "number 1" down to a science. He will say potty and then strip down and run upstairs to the bathroom. He can do the whole thing by himself. He climbs up on the potty and does his thing and then hops off. He shuts the lid and flushes. Then he takes the hand sanitizer and washes his hands. "Number 2", however, is a much different story. That is an area we seem to be stuck at. As far as Emmett is concerned, "number 2" is done in his diaper and ONLY in his diaper. This is something we are going to have to really…

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Today just took a turn…(insert toilet flushing sound)

Today was going pretty well. At least I thought it was. The mailman arrived about 11am this morning but I didn't go get it until a bit later. When I opened the mail I saw this and my stomach was instantly in knots. It was a bill from Aultman Hospital for Lizze's surgery. It's been months and we thought it had actually been covered by insurance. Turns out that was the incorrect assumption. When I had spoken with Aultman Hospital to set up the surgery that Lizze needed to have done they told me we were looking at $6000. I wasn't sure how we were going to cover that but Lizze really needed the surgery and so I didn't feel we really had a choice. Well apparently that was a…

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On a positive note….

On a positive note, Lizze seems to be moving around a bit more easily. She is only using the cane on occasions for right now. As I said in my previous post her migraine is back  but at least she is gaining some mobility back. I really worry about her when she can't move because of her history of blood clots. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. :)  

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Unfortunately….

Unfortunately, the trip to the hospital didn't work. Lizze's migraine came back yesterday morning. It never actually broke but the pain killers worked to bring the pain level down a bit. However, that was short lived.  Lizze is scheduled for an occipital never block in 2 weeks and a headache infusion in 3 weeks. I'm really hoping the migraine just breaks before she needs to have these done. The occipital never block is a VERY painful procedure and is not always effective. The headache infusion will take 3 days.   Please say a prayer we get this under control before the procedures are scheduled.

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