Overcoming the stigma of chronic pain and medicaid

Lizze is waiting to be seen by the doctor. We have to overcome the stigma of chronic pain and medicaid. There are judgements and assumptions made about people with chronic pain like Fibromyalgia and people on assistance. It's wrong but it happens. I worked in the emergancy medical field a very long time and I saw it happen quite often. Not everyone is abusing the system not everyone is a drug seeker. Sometimes life is just to much and you need help. Some times you have 3 special needs boys that require tremendous sacrifice and public assistance is one of the pills you have to swallow in order to help your children. Relief from pain shouldn't be based on your economic status. Hopefully, they will see past all that and…

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Off to emergency room

I'm taking Lizze to the ER. She has had her migraine for like 28 days now (I think). She is at the point of feeling like she's going to pass out from the pain. I'm taking her and sending the kids to the grand parents. I want to make sure she isn't looked at as a drug seeker and they actually try to help her.   Please say a prayer that she finds some desperately needed relief from the month long migraine.

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Autism and the escape artist….

~Autism and wandering go hand in hand. A very dangerous combination~ I have an escape artist on my hands. I have written about this before but up until now Emmett has never "escaped". Emmett John has gotten out of the house 3 times over this past weekend. We have 3 locks on the front door plus an alarm system. What Emmett does is unlocks the door and simply runs. We are spread pretty thin and so, at times, my attention is elsewhere. He has learned to exploit these lapses in "security". I've gone out several times to get new "baby" proofing things. The problem is that I need to "Emmett" proof things. The resourcefulness of an almost 3 year old with Autism is UNBELIEVABLE. When he sets out to accomplish…

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IEP time today…..

As special needs parents we are ALL probably familiar with the IEP's (Individualized Education Plan). It's that time of year again. We had to do our end of the year IEP review. This is a meeting at the school that basically reviews Gavin's progress and sets new goals for him meet for the upcoming year. While we have struggle in most areas of our life we have been blessed when it comes to Gavin's school. Many special needs parents have to wage war with school officials in order to get there child's IEP needs met. We are lucky because we NEVER have that struggle at least since he switched school a few years ago and we left the public school system behind. Gavin's school is VERY helpful with IEP's. In fact this…

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30 seconds of freedom….

So I dropped the van off today around 4pm at Waterloo Transmission in order for it to "HOPEFULLY" get fixed in the morning. I parked the van in front of the building and locked the key and the part inside the van and left. About 30 minutes ago I was driving my dad home so I could use their car in the morning to take the boys to school. As we passed by Waterloo Transmission my dad and I both realized the van was missing at the same time. I started to panic. Then all of a sudden panic turned into an overwhelming sense of relief. You may be asking why I felt relieved. Well I felt relieved because that piece of shit van was stolen and hopefully never to…

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Emmett: Potty Training Progress

~Potty training a child with Autism can be a challenge~ Potty training and Autism don't always go well together. We REALLY struggled with Gavin but Elliott was pretty easy once he was "ready". Emmett is a challenge because communication is such a constant issue. Emmett is VERY big into routine so that works to our advantage.....at times. Right now Emmett will use the potty on his own. He just struggles a bit with timing of it. He even has his little routine. He will say "potty" and then take his diaper off where ever he is (he not bashful, so you imagine the rest) and runs to the bathroom. He lifts up the lid and literally climbs onto the toilet and sits there. He will ONLY pee in the potty. As…

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Autism: We’re all on the same side….right?

The great "Autism debate" rages on and divide or rift inside the community was the inevitable result. Aren't we all on the same side? Since watching the movie Loving Lamppost: Living Autistic I've been thinking. Why all the "infighting" ? Aren't we all on the same side? Don't we all want the same thing?  I realize that in any debate there has to be two sides and Autism is no exception. We have the “recovery movement” and the “ neurodiversity movement”. Proponents of the “recovery movement” believe Autism is caused by vaccines and/or other environmental toxins. This movement is considered to operateoutside the realm of mainstream science and medicine. There is little or no scientific evidence to support their theory of the origins of Autism. They believe that Autism can be cured…

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Autism and self-injury: Where is the line?

Anyone that has followed this blog over the past year has heard me talk about Gavin's issues with self-injury. Gavin, when angry, frustrated or extremely anxious will self-injure. We have tried many, many ways of deterring this behavior. Nothing seems to work because he will eventually self-injure again. Autism is a disorder that lends itself to self-injurious behavior. We have learned to not react to him when he does it. However, the problem we are encountering it that his brothers are "modeling" or mimicking this behavior. We CANNOT allow this to happen. I'm very aware that Gavin is struggling right now in EVERY aspect of his young life. While he is struggling, we cannot excuse this behavior. Just because Gavin has Autism does not mean he gets a free pass. In fact…

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