Autism Archives - Page 53 of 714

I stepped outside of my comfort zone and spoke my mind because it matters

I've said this before and while it may not appear this way on the surface, I'm way too self-conscious to enjoy appearing on TV. That said, I've been doing it anyway because some things are more important than my comfort level. I will continue to do so when the opportunity presents itself because I want to make a difference and do my part. Today was one of those days. I was asked by my friends at ABC News Live to speak again, but this time to how I feel about the current status of COVID19 and the news of Donald Trump being infected. I know many like to steer clear of politics but unfortunately, we no longer have the luxury of standing on the side lines, pretending like everything is…

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October 5, 2020

COVID19 / Link / Lockdown / My thoughts / Remote Learning / School

Remote learning is going okay but I’m maintaining perspective

Moving on.... So we had a pretty decent day today. Elliott had to get his Chromebook swapped out, so Lizze and her Mom picked that up and took care of that for us. That was super helpful and I'm grateful. School is going better and the boys are starting to get into something that when you squint, sorta resembles a routine. At best, it's a bastardized routine but progress is progress. I'm not going to apologize for letting my kids be comfortable while they're learning. This whole thing is a nightmare and I have zero concerns about them chilling on the couch, bed or anywhere else that makes learning a positive thing. As long as the kids are appropriately dressed, in good lighting and they're teachers are happy with their…

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October 2, 2020

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

What kind of person shames a special needs parent?

Shaming special needs parents is not okay. It's not. I want to take a moment before we get into this I want to briefly talk about the shaming of special needs parents. Frankly, this applies to any parent but right now, I'm reaching out to special needs parents in particular because this is something we endure on the regular basis. People can be assholes. No one has the right to shame you. Most people have no clue what your life is like or the challenges you face every single day. These mean spirited, ignorant, and hateful people couldn't fill your shoes, let alone a mile in them. I hear from parents all the time who are dealing with judgment, ridicule, and shaming. It's heartbreaking and I know how hard it…

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October 1, 2020

My thoughts

A slight hiccup to the start of our day

First of all, I love waking up in the morning with my balcony door wide open. The morning sun shines right in and it's just a good start to the day. I've not been sleeping well lately and getting up in time to get the kids to school isn't easy. On this particular morning, Mr. Emmett is under the weather. He's dealing with nausea and I think it's due in part to post nasal drip, with a heaping helping of stress on the side. Anyway, he's struggling a bit and I called him off from his first class this morning. I'm hoping that a slower start will help him work through this and get back to school in time for his second class. I got him setup on my bed…

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September 28, 2020

Link / Major Update / My thoughts

A Ginormous Update

Alright folks, I'm playing catchup here and this will be a rather large update. So buckle up, it's a couple pages. First things first, I feel like we had a pretty decent weekend. The boys had a great visit with their mom and aside from a few hiccups with Gavin related behaviors, it seems like a very positive experience. That's awesome. They adjusted to being home in short order and picked up life where they'd left off before their trip. We spent some time working on the house. The boys want to bolster our security, as do I, because of all the recent shootings in our neighborhood. Just the other night, there were three woman shot while they were sitting on their front porch. I heard the shots but didn't…

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September 27, 2020

Gallery / My thoughts

I think he’s out of shits to give

I've been noticing a behavioral change in Gavin and I feel comfortable saying that it began during COVID lockdown. I've stated that Gavin’s been doing really well and that's absolutely the case. What I'm writing about today is more annoying, disruptive, and a bit curious than anything else. Here's what's happening. Gavin startles very easily and I mean very easily. That's not a problem in and of itself. The issue is that when he's startled, he now screams at the top of his lungs, and sometimes falls out of his seat or throws whatever is in his hands into the air. This happens across the board. He doesn't watch things that are even remotely scary. Tonight, Emmett was playing the Xbox and he was looking around a room. When he…

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September 21, 2020

My thoughts

My kids visit their mom this week and I have nothing planned for myself

I took the kids hiking today. We found a new trail, where we don't run into anyone else, which is why we don't have masks on in the picture. We had our masks with us in case we came across other humans but we didn't. The kids are going to see their mom this week and I don't think they could be any more excited. Assuming everyone is still healthy, the kids will go to school on Wednesday and I'll drop them off around 2pm. I have absolutely nothing planned for my time while the kids are gone. It would be ideal for me to have a list of things I want to accomplish but the reality is that I don't get breaks very often right now. The kids will…

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September 20, 2020

COVID19 / Emmett John / Lockdown / My thoughts

Shoe shopping online for my #autistic son

Let me just start by saying that I hate shoe shopping for Emmett, even in the most perfect of circumstances. I love Emmett to the moon and back. The issue is not that I don't want to spend the time or money, it's that sensory processing disorder makes finding things like shoes, socks and clothes difficult at times. Although, as he gets older, he's doing so much better. It can still be frustrating though, for both of us. I've talked about this a million times before but people suffering from SPD, and I use the word suffering on purpose, face challenges that the rest of us can't even imagine. In Emmett's case, he's very sensitive to things like texture, taste and smell. He doesn't like the feeling of clothes on…

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September 20, 2020