Read more about the article Meltdowns and mayhem led to an incrediblely touching gesture
Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / Meltdowns / My thoughts

Meltdowns and mayhem led to an incrediblely touching gesture

This morning has been a total disaster. Mr. Emmett woke up in a mood that can only be described as unfortunate. He woke up at one point last night and wanted to crawl into our bed but we got him back into his instead. Maybe he had nightmares again and that's what had him in such a horrible, outwardly aggressive mood. Elliott and Gavin were both the targets of Emmett's verbal wrath at one point or another. Both seemed to understand that Emmett was having a rough time and didn't react in a retaliatory manner. Very proud of them for that. I intervened, correcting Emmett when he lashed out but as most Autism parents can relate to, it's a very fine line between correcting behavior and escalating an already volatile…

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September 17, 2018
Read more about the article Self-care isn’t always easy but it’s absolutely possible and here are some ideas
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts / Self-Care

Self-care isn’t always easy but it’s absolutely possible and here are some ideas

I'm super proud of myself because after today's walk, I have already hit 40 miles for the month. In other words, over the last 16 days, I have walked 40 miles on the track. That doesn't including walking in general. That's specifically from me driving to the park, starting my Galaxy Watch and stopping it when I'm done. For me personally, that's pretty fricking amazing and I've come a long way. I haven't made anymore progress on my weightloss since my last weigh-in but I'm still at 305 lbs +/- 1 lb. That's a 35 lb weightloss in roughly the last 6 months. ☺ I'm feeling pretty good about myself because self-care when you're an Autism parent can be exceptionally challenging. I'm really pushing myself to focus on this and…

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September 16, 2018
Read more about the article My resources were completely depleted
My thoughts

My resources were completely depleted

I don't think Lizze ever fell asleep last night. Maybe I let her sleep too long yesterday afternoon but she needed the rest. I just woke up and my back is feeling a little better and my stress level has come back down a bit. There aren't any plans that I'm aware of today but as long as Lizze is doing okay, I'm going to sneak out and go walking, because I'm doing really good this month. I've gone 17 times in the last 16 days. If I keep this pace up through the end of the month, I will have walked 80 miles in the month of September. That's truly an awesome accomplishment for me. Anyway, aside from that, I need to grab a few things for this weeks…

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September 16, 2018
Read more about the article #Depression makes it worse
Depression Confessions / My thoughts

#Depression makes it worse

As the day has gone on, my stress level has steadily increased. The boys are in bed and sleeping. They need their rest after a long day. Lizze and I are watching Jack Ryan on Amazon but I think I'm done for the night. My stress level is at a point where my left eye has been twitching so much that I have a tension headache. I'm overwhelmed, worried and have way too much on my plate at the moment. When I get to this point, my ability to cope is severely impaired. This is when I can feel the out stretched arms of depression reaching out for me. I don't know how to describe it. It's like on most days I can keep my depression at bay. When I…

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September 16, 2018
Read more about the article My #Autism Parenting plate is extra full today
Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

My #Autism Parenting plate is extra full today

The boys came home and have been an absolute handful ever since. It's nice to have them home but when they're in a place like they're currently in, it sorta undoes the break because they requires twice as much time, patience and energy as they normally do. 😔 Between the ADHD impulsiveness or hyperactivity and it being too late in the day to get their meds, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. Lizze has progressively gotten worse as the day wears on. She's trying so hard but the chronic pain is overcoming her today. I finally got her to lay down in bed and I rubbed her back until she was able to fall asleep. I hate seeing her like this but all I can do is try to provide some…

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September 15, 2018
Read more about the article It’s always something isn’t it
My thoughts

It’s always something isn’t it

The boys won't be home for a little while and after sleeping in, I'm going to go walking. Lizze is in a great deal of pain today, so I'll be walking alone. Before we went to Chipotle last night, we also took Gavin to the garden center. He's been having a lot of joint related issues and we wanted to get him some exercise without overdoing it. Unfortunately, just was few minutes of walking led to issues with his knee. This morning, Gavin informed us that his knee was worse today than it was yesterday. So even if Lizze was feeling better, I'd still be walking alone. 😔 There's nothing we can do about it aside from giving him some Advil. This is most likely Ehlers-Danlos related and until we…

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September 15, 2018
Read more about the article Did you know that many kids with #Autism lack a filter? Here’s a perfect example.
Autism Parenting Woes / Gavin / My thoughts

Did you know that many kids with #Autism lack a filter? Here’s a perfect example.

I mentioned in the previous post that we took Gavin to dinner last night cause the boys were gone and we thought it would be nice. We ended up at Chipotle grabbing burritos. Gavin does a pretty good job at ordering for himself but I stayed within earshot because like many kids on the Autism Spectrum, he very much lacks a filter and you never know what's going to cone out of his mouth. What's a filter? A filter is what we call the ability to think something and not blurt it out for everyone to hear, regardless of appropriateness. Some might call it tact but filter is the general term. Anyway, Lizze was getting ready to pay and Gavin was finishing up his order. The person behind the counter…

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September 15, 2018