We are struggling with PICA again with Gavin. Not sure if we are struggling again or we have just become aware of it again. Are there ways of discouraging it? Should we down play it? Or should we crack the whip so to speak? LT

I spoke a while back about Gavin eating tooth paste. We adjusted where it was kept and watched him closer. Well apparently he is now eating the tooth paste that is crusted over in the sink. He is also cleaning out the drain and eating that also. We try to keep the sink clean but don't always stay on top of it. The other problem is that he will to this when he asks to go to the bathroom. He apparently doesn't always need to go. He's looking for tooth paste. We are going to have to supervise is use of the bathroom period. I just never ends........ LT

Disciplining your kids can be tough for parents sometimes. But what if your child has Autism? Navigating the world of Autism is like trying to put one of those generic puzzles with no picture together. You are often times flying blind. I can't tell you how many times I have felt lost and defeated. In our case with Gavin, he is a quagmire wrapped inside an enigma. He has so many other mental health issues that it really makes things difficult. How do you hold him accountable? What are the standards and are they set to high or to low? What is he actually capable of doing? These are all questions my wife and I have asked for years. Just when we think we have it figured out we realize…

How does Autism effect parents? This might be a delicate subject but people need to understand in order to support. In my experience there really 2 major categories. There are parents with kids Autistic from birth and there are parents with kids that regress into Autism. This post will be in several parts. Below is part 1. ---Please understand that I'm by no means trying to compare pain here. I'm trying to help bridge the gap and help us understand one another.--- I can only speak personally about the regressive form of Autism. This form of Autism usually strikes around age 2 or 3. You don't suspect anything at all because up to this point everything was perfect. All the milestones were reached on time. You have your whole life…

EJ has been really struggling with sensory related things. He is not tolerating clothes right now very well. It have evolved into he doesn't tolerate his diapers either. He acts like they actually hurt him. We have removed tags and try to find clothes without pronounced seams but the diaper situation is going to be a problem. I have been looking for my "Easy Button" but I seem to recall them being re-collected when they diagnosed my kids. But if anyone has an extra they want to send me that would be great :) LT

Gavin was in rare form today. He was in "I'm not going to listen to you" mode all day. If I didn't know better (maybe I don't) I'd swear he was doing it on purpose. He just seemed to be all over the place today. I lost track of how many times he ended up in his room to decompress. I knew it was going to be a long summer but I just didn't know how long. LT

Saw this posted on facebook. This is a great find and a MUST READ...... Doctors find way to reverse autism effects Keep this story going..... LT

If you are familiar with autism you probably already know there can be quiet a bit a drama that goes along with it. Gavin can be the king of drama at times. Today he got in the middle of the dog and cat "playing" and he got a tiny barely visible scratch from the cat. Not that it didn't hurt but he started screaming like he had just been stabbed. Sensory issues are at work here to but honestly it was drama. He was fine for a minute then realized he could squeeze it to the point it would bleed. By bleed I mean basically turn red. As soon as he saw the "blood" he totally lost it. He kept squeezing so more blood appeared and then he would scream…