Today has been. Yeah it's just been. Lizze went to Gavin's therapist tonight and took ER. We have been having him evaluated as we go along to make sure he is doing ok with everything else going on around him. Well today he was evaluated again and she thinks ER may also be autistic. I swear to God if I had any hair left I would pull it all out. She believes that he is very high functioning aspergers. She doesn't think it will interfere much with life though. He also looks to have ADHD which we assumed would be the case since Lizze has that. It is important to know the difference so if need be it can be treated. On to Gavin. She wants Gavin tested for Fragile…

I want to share and perhaps discuss how life will change after a diagnosis of Autism. When you first hear the word "Autism" it's like someone sucked all the air out of the room because I couldn't breathe. It's in many ways the best and worst day of your life so far. You finally know why your child is "different" but then you finally "KNOW" why your child is different. Best and worst day all in one. You will most likely remember the exact moment you found out. I remember the exact moment for both of my kids. You will be on a first name basis with words like spectrum, comorbidity, occupational therapy, speech therapy etc. Plan on becoming an expert in your child's particular diagnosis because you most likely…

Today we finished all of EJ's paperwork. He is now qualified as MRDD. I wasn't expecting that today. That really kinda kicks you right in the gut to hear that. On the positive side that does give us FSS funding to make the house safer and provide for the sensory needs. Each step we take that gets us closer to the final diagnosis just makes everything all that more real. It's one thing to know something but it's another thing to "KNOW" something. If that makes any sense. I don't think there is any way to actually prepare for the moment of truth that is around the corner. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. If you are a parent of typical kids don't ever take that for granted it can…

Well it looks to be a pretty crappy day outside. I leave shortly to get Gavin off to school. I think he actually slept most of the night so that should help him out today. Hopefully he has a good day and it sets the tone for the week. Less then 2 weeks of school left. LT

This has been a really long weekend. Gavin has struggled for most of it. We didn't go anywhere or do anything. Gavin just wasn't listening at all this weekend. He would go right back to doing what we told him not to within minutes of us telling him. The big thing was running. Gavin for some reason was running a lot in the house. We don't allow that for obvious reasons (safety). He actually ran into the wall today. EJ is really getting aggressive. Gavin, Lizze and ER were all victims today. Help Me Grow comes out in the morning to help us finish paper work for EJ's services. I just want to get him help asap because I don't know how much more we can take. Lizze has been…

Consequence. Every action or inaction can have a consequence. We try to teach our kids this valuable lesson through out their young lives. But how to be teach this lesson to our autistic children. Autistic children have a very difficult time in any type of social interaction. This is a major struggle for us with Gavin. He doesn't understand all the time that his actions have consequences,sometimes good and sometimes bad. The best way we have found is to hold him to a higher standard. We have discussed this at length with all his doctors and teachers. Gavin has to face consequences for his actions. If he hits his brother there is a consequence. If he throws a fit or has a meltdown that has a consequence. They only way…

The end of the day has arrived. I find myself alone on the couch with Maggie, my blackberry and Extreme Makeover Home Edition on Hulu. Lizze went to take EJ to bed and never came back. They are curled up sleeping next to each other. ER and Gavin are both sleeping. At least ER is sleeping, I think Gavin might still be moving around. He is quiet. So he's probably just playing peacefully on the floor. Gavin just came down to tell me he can't sleep. This defiantly points in the direction of manic. We visit this place quite often. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Lizze and I are going to watch the entire series of King of the Hill start to finish over the summer. So…

Paradise. More like paradise lost. Today has been very trying so far. Gavin lost it right before lunch. he and ER were playing. Gavin decided to make it into a game "with no rules". However, there was no way for ER to win because Gavin wouldn't let him. He frustrated ER with this. Lizze approached Gavin to question him about what happened. ER said Gavin was cheating. Gavin wouldn't just answer the questions. Lizze asked him again to answer. This time he bit her head off. I called Gavin over and made him sit like a pretzel on the floor. This keeps him from kicking and jumping around. I asked him the same questions and he just started to scream. Maggie (our dog) went over to check on him and…