Read more about the article #COVID has struck my household for the 1st time and I’m feeling overwhelmed
My thoughts

#COVID has struck my household for the 1st time and I’m feeling overwhelmed

I'm going to be honest. The level of overwhelmed that I'm currently at is tough for me to manage. There's a great deal of change occurring in my life all at once and while most of it is positive, not all of it is. To top it all off, we got hit with a whammy tonight. I'll just start out by saying that I realize that I'm not thinking about all this as clearly as I could be. I'm distracted and exhausted. I had to move a meeting this morning because Elliott was home from school and I need to take care of a few things that came up at the last minute. After that, I crashed for a good chunk of the day. Elliott was home sick, Emmett was…

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May 18, 2022
Read more about the article I had an unbelievably good day and yet I’m struggling a little bit
My thoughts

I had an unbelievably good day and yet I’m struggling a little bit

I've had an unbelievably good day. I'm starting a new job that I can't wait to talk about, and it's perfect for me. I'm so freaking excited because it's going to allow me to build a better future for my kids and grow my efforts. It's been a long time coming and I hope I can live up to the expectations. I was able to spend some time talking to my friend Kate Swenson from Finding Cooper's Voice on the pod this morning. She's one of my favorite people and we had a fantastic conversation. I'll let you know when to expect the episode to drop. Can't wait for you to hear it. My friends from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will be on the pod again tomorrow to update…

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May 17, 2022
Read more about the article I couldn’t be prouder
Elliott / My thoughts / Proud Dad Moments

I couldn’t be prouder

I want to remind all the parents out there to never lose hope. This will be very short and I feel like the picture says it all. My kids have been in a charter school for kids on the spectrum, since kindergarten. The idea of mainstreaming seemed scary and frankly, impossible at times. I always pushed the idea aside thinking I was doing what was best for my kids. I genuinely felt I was doing what was best. Fast forward to Elliott's sophomore year at the charter school and he became the target of bullying that was relentless and not handled well by the school at first. He decided that he wanted to transfer high schools, more than 3/4 of the way through the year. I wasn't very comfortable with…

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May 15, 2022
Read more about the article Seeing this made me feel good
RemasterDirector_V0
My thoughts

Seeing this made me feel good

It's been a long week. It's had some amazing highs and some heartbreaking lows. I'm currently sick, but tested negative for COVID. I really started not feeling well yesterday and I was up all night coughing, sneezing, and generally miserable. It could be worse and I'm grateful it's not. Last night, we were going to have a bonfire, the first bonfire of the year but between me not feeling well and it being in the 80's outside, we opted for a different path. Instead, we had a movie night. I had recently worked with the Uncharted movie and was sent some really cool stuff. The boys and I decided that movie night would be centered around the Uncharted movie. Gavin's a bit reclusive when it comes to watching movies as…

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May 14, 2022
Read more about the article It’s been such a long day and I’m spent
My thoughts

It’s been such a long day and I’m spent

It's been an exceptionally long day for a number of reasons. Emmett wasn't feeling well I spent five straight hours in meetings this afternoon. Emmett felt better as the day went on and was okay to go visit his mom. Normally, when they are home from school due to not feeling well, they don't go anywhere. One of the few exceptions are parental visits and this is only true if they aren't sick with something contagious. Most of the time my kids don't feel well, it's emotional or chronic in nature, if that makes sense. As with many kids on the spectrum, there tends to be a lot of anxiety related upset stomachs and things like that. I think Emmett is dealing with some of the chronic health issues his…

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May 12, 2022
Read more about the article For #autism parents, redirection is an art form
Autism Parenting Tips and Tricks / My thoughts

For #autism parents, redirection is an art form

My first meeting today was rescheduled and frankly, it worked out for the best. Emmett hasn't been feeling well and was hanging out in my room while I was working. I still have a few more meetings to get through today but Emmett's feeling a little better. I don't know know about your kids but if my kids have an upset stomach, they assume they're going to puke. They can get so worked up that they actually will puke when they probably, otherwise wouldn't have. The trick to avoid this, in my expression, is redirection. Autism parents have to master the art of redirection, and it is an art form. Thankfully, my kids are older and manage much better but redirection is still very helpful at times. Today was one…

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May 11, 2022
Read more about the article Today’s going to be a good day
My thoughts

Today’s going to be a good day

The last couple of days have been rough for me. I experience with emotions is very intense. That's not necessarily a bad thing but it can be overwhelming. I've always been that way but as I've aged, it's become easier to manage. Not perfect mind you, but manageable. When I get like this, I can start drowning in what feels like a tsunami of feelings, fear, and pervasive thinking. I always thought that was normal but as I'm learning more about myself, I'm understanding it's very much an ADHD thing. It's so interesting to step back and look at things because I'm able to recognize patterns in my behavior that make much more sense now. Once I recognize the problem, I can work on addressing it. The hardest part for…

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May 11, 2022
Read more about the article I’m so proud of him
RemasterDirector_V0
Gavin / My thoughts / Proud Dad Moments

I’m so proud of him

I had a conversation with someone today (did a video about it here) and I remembered a bit more about why I started doing everything I do. It was a reminder to me that while evolution and growth can be positive things, it's important to stay true to your roots. I've been thinking alot about this today and I'm feeling inspired to want to make some changes to how I write. My concern for privacy hasn't and won't change, so there are parts of our lives that are simply off limits. That doesn't mean I can't share the cool things my kids are doing and obstacles they've overcome along the way. I've gotten away from this since I became a single Dad a few years back and honestly, I'm not…

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May 10, 2022