Gavin had a great day at school. After school him and I went shopping. He did pretty good at the store as well. He even did the self check out while I bagged the groceries. I have video I'll post later of him checking the groceries out. Today was his last Wednesday of the school year. We have 3 months of summer break. I fear it will be a really long summer. Especially with our car situation. With EJ's new car seat and ER's existing car seat there is no longer enough room in the car. We desperately need to find a minivan. They all need their space. Car rides anywhere aren't much fun because EJ kicks ER and then they take turns screaming. Lizze gets her MRI results back…

Elliott Richard sat down on the steps and just unloaded. He is apparently very deeply effected by what is going on with his family. He has formed these opinions entirely on his own. I didn't really address anything because I wanted to hear what he had to say. It's amazing how articulate he is at only 4 yrs old. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ze5IU7szJE] Elliott Richard is basically saying he is mad at God because of all the challenges his brothers and him mommy have been given. He talks about wanting to build a robot God and teach it the words to tell the original God to clap his hands and let Emmett John talk and Gavin understand. He is very sweet. LT

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…