Autistic Archives - The Autism Dad

The first week of school is behind us and a few other updates

The first full week of school has come and gone. It didn't go as planned but we adapted. Elliott had a great week and he really seems to like high school. Emmett on the other hand ended up having almost the entire week off due to the excessive heat. The grade school doesn't have AC and the heat index inside the school was over 100F. That's obviously a problem, so they called things of with hopes of returning on Monday. Elliott has AC in his building but it's still hot. Both boys have informed me about the mask policies in their respective buildings and I'm not feeling super comfortable with it. While they are sitting at their desk, they don't have to wear a mask. This tweet from today is…

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August 27, 2021

Gavin / My thoughts

A child trapped in a man’s body

My kids are driving me bonkers today. They're fighting with each other over stupid, pointless things. It's almost like they're fighting just to fight. I just defused an argument between Gavin and Elliott that was very quickly exculating. While this wasn't stupid or pointless, it was completely avoidable. Gavin had been doing something, on purpose, to annoy Elliott. Elliott had asked Gavin to stop half a dozen times and but he kept right on going. Elliott eventually got up and left the room. Gavin then proceeded to follow him and that's when Elliott finally began to lose his patience. This final confrontation took place outside my bedroom door, which is how I became aware of what had been happening. Elliott handled himself quite well but Gavin, not so much. Gavin…

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February 13, 2021

Emmett John / My thoughts / Proud Daddy Moments

My #autistic son is such an inspiration to me

I know not everyone will get this and that's okay. I also know that many of you will celebrate with me because you understand the significance of what I'm about to say. For those who are unable to relate, I hope this provides a bit of insight into the challenges kids on the autism spectrum can deal with on the daily. Mr. Emmett is a character. There's no two ways about it. He's so full of personality and life that frankly, it can be a bit overwhelming for me at times. He has an infectious smile and a belly laugh that will melt your heart. At just 12 years old, he's one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life. We're talking scary smart. Like, as his Dad,…

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November 9, 2020

COVID19 / Link / Lockdown / My thoughts

It’s been a heartbreaking day

Remote learning is like a fucking emotional roller-coaster for everyone involved, but especially for our kiddos on the autism spectrum. We have had our ups and downs but today was a particularly challenging. I stopped working today, which is hugely problematic, in order to help Emmett navigate his schoolwork. For some reason, he was completely overwhelmed by the tasks on the screen before him. There's a million reasons he's overwhelmed but I don't know what pushed him over the edge today. How many of you out there have seen similar with your own kids lately? It's currently 3pm and I've been trying to help him work through his anxiety, frustration and whatever else he's feeling that I can't see on the surface, all day now. Remote learning is a necessary…

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October 6, 2020

Gavin / My thoughts

Okay, that’s a little over the top

The boys and I have been keeping things pretty low key today. One of the reasons for that is that Gavin's behaviors are way over the top. By over the top, I mean exaggerated. He's finding everything hilarious and is very loud and excitable. This is actually common with autistic kids but it's not super common for Gavin in particular. To be clear, he's not misbehaving in any way. He's just being a bit annoying to everyone around him. LOL That being said, it's still cool to see him in such a good mood. Gavin doesn't really have a sense of humor that most people will get and doesn't like making jokes. Today however, he's making all kinds of jokes and is goofing around. Despite it being a bit much,…

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September 13, 2020