My kids are driving me completely insane today and here’s why

Holy shit..... My kids are driving me completely bonkers today. I like to think I'm in a good enough place to be able to cope longer with some of this stuff but not today. Gavin will not stop talking. In fact, he literally follows me around the house, talking at me and not to me. I have to actually tell him to stop talking to me, and hate doing that but I swear to God, if he doesn't stop, I'm going to lose my mind. Elliott and Emmett are both handfuls as well. Elliott is generally disagreeable and easily irritated. He's doing this thing where he feels the need to correct what other people are saying and it's driving me nuts. Emmett's meltdown meter is buried in the red, meaning…

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Why we should put some focus on the parents this #Autism Awareness month

With Autism Awareness month just around the corner, there are a few things I would like to see happen this time around.  Obviously, there needs to be a focus on people who are Autistic. That should go without saying and even in 2017, that's sorely lacking.  However, one of the things that I believe needs a larger focus, is the parents raising these kids with Autism. I realize that most parents of kids with Autism are neuro-typical, but we/they play an absolutely critical role in the lives and futures of our children with Autism.  Without resources, funding and support, we can't be what our kids need. Without support, we can give our kids what they need to reach their full potential.  Speaking for myself, I'm very, very human. There's only…

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We’re celebrating a little victory today

I've written this post out twice now and each time WordPress somehow eats it. For that reason, I'm going to keep this short and sweet..  I took Gavin with me to the grocery store the other day. He always wants to push the cart but I usually avoid this because he doesn't pay attention to his surroundings. He tends to run into people and things.  This time however, we weren't in a hurry and I could keep a close eye on him. You should see the look in his eyes when he can push the cart. It's very similar to a parent tossing their new teen driver the keys to the car.  He actually did pretty well. I had to stay on him but no one was hurt and nothing…

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This shouldn’t be allowed to happen

Lizze and I finally have a night off and we have the ability to sleep, without worry about the kids. All week long, we dream of the next time we will be in this same position. We sorta live from one of these moments to the next, if that makes sense.  When facing the amount of struggle we do on a daily basis, we need a light at the end of the tunnel.  Here's the fucked up part. The first chance we have in three weeks to crash and neither one of us can fall asleep. This should not be allowed to happen to parents in situations like these.  I think the problem lies in the fact that our sleep cycles are so messed up, that even if or when…

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We finally have a night to ourselves 

The boys are gone for the night. This means Lizze and I have our first break in about three weeks or so. I'm not gonna lie, we absolutely need this break.  We didn't do much of anything, it was a chill out and watch a movie kinda night. We ordered pizza and watched the rest of Iron Fist on Netflix. Awesome show by the way.. ☺  It's been a long few weeks and we're both exhausted.  Between everyone being sick, the boys being home for seven straight days and the major server issues, my stress level has been through the roof. I've not been sleeping well and I've been struggling with my healthier diet.  I plan on sleeping well tonight, sleeping in and if I'm feeling better, sneak in a…

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The heartbreaking letter my son with #Autism wrote

Before we go into this post, I want to be clear that Elliott wants me to share this personal journal entry of his. He hopes other kids will learn something from him. There's so much to catch you up on, and I'm trying to get there, but it's been one problem after another. This is something that I wanted to get out there for Elliott because it's important to him. The other day, Elliott fell down the stairs at school. He banged his body up a little, and he's sore, but otherwise physically okay. The only reason I even found out about this, is because he was in tears when he climbed into the car after school. I asked him what was wrong and he explained how he'd fallen down…

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When good news is heartbreaking 

I wanted to share some insight into what it's like to be heartbroken by good news. I know that sounds weird but let me explain.  On Tuesday, we were informed that Gavin has graduated from speech therapy. He had brought his scores up in several areas and he no longer fit the criteria that would enable him to continue.  On the surface that sounds like amazing news and in some ways it is. Gavin's worked very hard to make some of these improvements and we're proud of him. The heartbreak comes when you see beneath the surface and understand what this graduation really amounts to. The reality that my wife and I face is that we're so happy and proud of Gavin for doing so well in speech. On the…

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Why I’ve had a change of heart about #Autism Awareness month

As one ages through life, one tends to gain wisdom and insight that they were previously lacking. What I mean by wisdom is learning from one's past and gaining insights into different ways of thinking. I'm absolutely no exception to this, and I want to share something that I've recently had a change of heart about. We all know that April is Autism Awareness month. This is the one time of year where the world's eyes and ears are pointed in our direction (the Autism community). In the past, I've taken a pretty hardline stance on the Autism Speaks Light it up Blue campaign. I've been very vocal about how I feel that buying a blue light bulb is more about padding the bottom line than raising Autism Awareness. While…

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