My thoughts – Page 247 – The Autism Dad

I’m trying to remain positive

Today's been a challenge for me on a few levels. We finally were ready to remove Maggie's kennel from the house and that sucked. Noone wanted to remove it before today and we respected that because we thought it might help them work through things. It seems to have helped and that's a positive thing. Lizze, Gavin and myself went for a walk this afternoon and it was gorgeous out. We got to see all the newly hatched baby geese, the first painted turtle of the year and a bunch of freshly bloomed flowers. It was invigorating to witness Mother Nature at her best and it put all of us in a great mood. Shortly there after, I was scheduled to meet with the principal to work on some fundraising…

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April 23, 2018

My 5 biggest #Autism Parenting worries and how I’m addressing them

If being an Autism parent was a video game, the difficulty setting would the three or four notches above the highest setting. That's not meant to be a joke. Autism Parenting requires more from a human being than most human beings are capable of. My wife and I are no exceptions to this. Over the last seventeen years, we've had to constantly triage our life, shifting our priorities on a daily basis, in order to meet the needs of our kids. It's an exhausting way of life because there's always so much to worry about. I wanted to address some things that my wife and I worry about as Autism parents, as well as, how we're addressing them in a positive and productive manner. I'm focusing on things that I…

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April 23, 2018

Gavin / My thoughts

Why he’s so excited about this red box

It's a little odd but Gavin has been chomping at the bit to get a new sharps container for the disposal of his IVIG infusion supplies. I say it's odd because he's been really focused on it. On Friday, I made arrangements for a new sharps container to be delivered today and the old one picked up. It's not that I was putting this off, it's that the current container simply wasn't full. Gavin perceives it as an eminent issue because it was approaching the full mark, even though there was a good ways to go still. I informed him over the weekend that his new one will be delivered sometime on Monday but I didn't have a specific time frame. That has clearly been causing him a bit of…

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April 23, 2018

Autism Parenting Confessions / Gavin / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Does this make me the monster I feel like I am?

I'm going to cut to the chase. Putting things bluntly, Gavin is driving me absolutely crazy and I'm not as patient with him as I should be or as much as he deserves. He's constantly asking me the same questions and sharing outload, every thought that pops into his head. It's exhausting, frustrating and overwhelming. I used to be so patient with him in this regard and would listen to every word that came out of his mouth. Over time, it's chipped away at me and as Gavin's overall cognitive ability suffers, the constant talking increases. Getting him to do one or two step tasks requires multiple attempts and a great deal of coaching. I've no question in my mind that he's doing the best he can. I also know…

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April 23, 2018

Emmett John / Gallery / Martial Arts Promotion / My thoughts / YouTube Video

Emmett’s Martial Arts Tournament Results (Tons of Pictures AND Video)

It's been a long day, but I've finally recovered enough to write this post. I'm going to keep this brief and let the pictures/videos do the talking. ☺ Emmett had his martial arts tournament on Saturday morning and it was a pretty awesome experience. I had originally thought this was going to be something that wouldn't have any actual competition but I was wrong. There was no sparring or contact anything, but they did compete. Everything they did was scored by the judges and the highest score won. He competed in the Empty Hand Kata and the Weapon Kata. I'm super excited and incredibly proud to share that Emmett took first place in both competitions. He had the highest scores of anyone who competed today and there were a ton…

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April 22, 2018

Emmett John / Martial Arts Promotion / My thoughts

I’m really pushing myself today

We leave for Emmett's martial arts thing in about an hour. I'm absolutely not feeling well and I just want to go back to bed. Obviously, that's not an option. I'm going to have to really push myself this morning. I know how important this is to Emmett and I will not be the reason he doesn't make it there. My hope is, after I get moving around a bit, I'll begin to feel better. I'm so excited for Emmett and I want today to be all about him.

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April 21, 2018

Autism Parenting Insight / Family Pets / Maggie / My thoughts

Helping my kids deal with loss

It's been one week since Maggie passed away and we wanted to try to keep the kids distracted today. Kids with Autism are especially prone to struggling with loss and tend to benefit a great deal from distraction. Trying to process already confusing emotions is difficult and at least my kids tend to perseberate. It's been a rough seven days for most of us and it somehow seemed fitting to spend the one week anniversary of her death, outside enjoying the sun. She loved being outside and basking in the sun. Lizze and I took the boys to the park and let them explore this afternoon. Click the image below to open the gallery. [foogallery id="79085"] The boys had a great time. We all had a great time actually. Everyone…

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April 20, 2018

Common Variable Immunodeficiency / Gavin / Immunology / IVIG Infusion / My thoughts

There is no cure for what my oldest son has but we keep pushing forward

Eariler today there was a knock at the door. It was Akron Children's Hospital delivering Gavin's IVIG infusion supplies. I guess I didn't realize it was already that time of month again. Gavin has been getting these delivers for more years that I care to remember and as much as I hate the fact that they're necessary, they are. These supplies allow for his twice a weeky IVIG infusions. Without these infusions, Gavin wouldn't have a functional immune system. It's a heartbreaking reality that people like Gavin and families like ours have to live with. There's no cure for Common Variable Immunodeficiency and while the treatment is available, it's also incredibly expensive. Over time, it's likely that Gavin's condition will continue to worsen and he will need higher and higher…

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April 20, 2018