This is Mr.  Lizard. Elliott Richard and I have been raising him together for about 3 months now. He was about 3 inches when we got him and now he's almost a foot long. He still has a lot of growing to do yet. I wanted to teach Elliott Richard about responsibility (the normal age appropriate kind). He loves taking care of Mr. Lizard and feeds him 2 times a day. He is even trying to teach him not to poop on the basking rock ;-) Little things like raising a pet together has allowed us to connect on a different level.  I don't ever want to lose that with him.  Posted to Wordpress via my Epic 4G

Our very good friend/family Nikky wanted to guest post today. This is in response to the iggnorance I experienced at a car dealership last week while trying to buy a new car. So  here we go.  Thanks Nikky..... Click on her name to vist her blog...... "I wish you knew my friends.  They are unlike anyone else I know. They are the strongest, most loyal, resilient, hard working people I know. But most people don’t know that, and most don’t care to try to. What you see on the outside isn’t what is on the inside. They are a family of five who may appear to be like any other family. There is a mom, a dad, and three boys. They don’t live in the best part of town and definitely…

Emmett John has been behaving more Artistic lately.  That might sound weird but he is developing more behaviors typical to Autistic children.  He is shrieking and or screaming all he time.  The words he was using are disappearing as well.  We have to start or restart rather,  teaching him American Sign Language.  We have no other way to effectively communicate with him.  It 's exhausting to same cyber least.  He seems to be more sensitive to things like touch and texture then he was previously. On top of that the poor guy has been sick the past few days and that makes everything worse for him.  I pray we make it through the week and we all get better.

The past few weeks have been pretty rough for me.  Really this entire summer has been rough.  Gain spent time in 2 different children's hospitals and that was hard on everyone.  I haven't been writing much lately because I have been 2 overwhelmed and frustrated with life.  We got hit pretty hard financially this summer. That effects everything and everyone.  We got behind on our mortgage and our car died leaving us carless. I have been all over Northeast Ohio looking for a new car. I get met with the same denials do to credit.  It is really hard for me to know that I cannot provide for my family better.  I love being self sufficient in every aspect of my life.  So I find it difficult to have to…

I finally found a dealer to work with on my car hunt. I shared my story and explained what I needed. While doing paperwork there was a thing on the news about that woman in N. Carolina fighting the restaurant that won't let her Autistic son eat there because he make to much noise. this restaurant owner actually said on tv that "she can't believe they actually take a child like that out in public". At this point one of the sales lady screams "that's bullshit". Keep in mind this one of the largest dealers in Ohio. She went on to bash the special needs mother in her quest to fight intollerance. The sales lady said a child with Autism just needs dicipline. Autism isn't an excuse to misbehave. She…

This has been a rough week. I have been trying to find a car all week. It's really demoralizing hear "we can't help you" over and over again. Our last hope is still in the works and we should know in the morning sometime. The kids are actually doing ok right now. Gavin being the exception. He is very manic but well behaved right now. We just finished up his first week back and it was a good one. I wish I had more to say but I am just to exhausted to think right now.  Thanks for sticking around. I will be posting a story that deeply affected me over the weekend.

I have a new article up at the Examiner "Let's get Fit for Autism". I know I am beating this drum pretty loud right now but I cannot impress upon you enough the importance of taking time to care for yourself. As always, every time you subscribe to or even click to view my work you are helping to support the Lost and Tired family. So if you like what I write please share the links and subscribe to my page. Thanks Again.

I haven't written anything meaningful in awhile. The reason for that is that I have just been to overwhelmed with life. Things aren't getting any easier at the Lost and Tired household. As of 2 days ago we are officially without a car. My parents have been gracious enough to allow us to use theirs in order to get the kids to and from school. The humiliating truth is that we are stretched far to thin to really afford another car payment. We are barely surviving as it is and extra burden might collapse us financially but what choice do I have. My reason for bringing this up is to show just one of the many problems/challenges facing the special needs parent. Often times  (as is true in our case)…