Read more about the article Is it real or is it drama? 
Autism Parenting Insight / Gavin / My thoughts

Is it real or is it drama? 

Gavin's been having a rough couple of days, especially at night. In many ways, he's his own worst enemy. He gets himself all worked up and then he can't settle down.  Friday night we had the medication ordeal. In all the rush to get to calling hours, I want thinking and forgot to physically put his meds in his backpack. When it came to bedtime, he worked himself into a tizzy because he convinced himself that he would never fall asleep until he had his meds.  Missing his meds is not a good thing, however, one dose wouldn't be the end of the world. He would simply pick back up in the morning when he got home.  Lizze's Mom ended up bringing him home around 10 pm (if I recall…

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July 31, 2017
Read more about the article Unfortunately, our cat has to go back to the vet
Family Pets / My thoughts

Unfortunately, our cat has to go back to the vet

I haven't mentioned this to anyone because I'm not sure what's going to happen. We have to take our cat Cleo back into the vet again, on Tuesday. She was having some problems a few months back with diarrhea and we thought it was because she was being bullied by Elliott's cat Greysha.  After several trips to the vet, it was decided that Greysha just never really adjusted to humans after being rescued as a feral kitten. She lived in our house but we rarely saw her, except for when she was attacking Cleo.  I talked about how we were taking her a relatives old farm. Plenty of shelter, lots of food, and most importantly, not many humans.  Since then, Cleo's other behavioral issues have resolved but she still shits…

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July 31, 2017
Read more about the article Confessions of an #Autism Dad: What I’ve learned from doubting myself
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Confessions of an #Autism Dad: What I’ve learned from doubting myself

I don't know how many people ever feel this way, let alone admit it, but there are times where I seriously question what the powers that be were thinking when they put me on this path.  Being a parent is hard enough. Adding Autism, fragile health, and several other serious mental health issues into the mix, makes things infinitely more difficult.  As Autism parents, we have to function twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year, sometimes for the rest of our natural lives. We may never experience an empty nest.  It's exhausting, overwhelming, frustrating, heartbreaking, and even devastating at times. The stress level alone doesn't even qualify as stress. In reality, there isn't a word that can accurately express the level of stress…

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July 30, 2017
Read more about the article Today’s Victory: Quite a few stops to fix his shoes
Family Fun / My thoughts / Pokémon Go / Today's Victory

Today’s Victory: Quite a few stops to fix his shoes

I took the boys to the park for another mile or so of Pokémon Go. Lizze stayed behind because of her feet. She thinks they're beginning to feel better and doesn't want to overdue it.  Considering how hot it was, how many people were at the park, and their very limited attention span, I'm really proud of the boys. Truthfully, they did a good job playing Pokémon Go and watching out for where they were going.  Of course, Emmett made quite a few stops to fix his shoes.  Even though he had to stop to fix his shoes, he still kept pushing on. He was a total trooper, and I'm super proud of him for not giving up, or getting frustrated.  The trip was an overall success, and it was…

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July 30, 2017
Read more about the article An important update 
General Update / Lizze

An important update 

I want to do a general update, and this time focus on Lizze. It's been awhile since I've really talked much about how Lizze is doing, so I thought I should correct that.  As you may or may not remember, Lizze was taking a series of three, very intensive, outpatient therapy-type classes. These are designed for people with PTSD, Bipolar Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder. Lizze has both Biolpolar and PTSD. These classes have been enormously beneficial for her.  Unfortunately, after all three classes were approved, and she was halfway through the second one, insurance decided to no longer cover this therapy.  They didn't provide a reason other than it wasn't beneficial.  The staff at the Cleveland Clinic/Akron General fought to get this overturned but were met with the impervious…

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July 30, 2017
Read more about the article He just breaks down in tears 
Emmett John / Fever Cycle / My thoughts / PFAPA

He just breaks down in tears 

Emmett is very unpleasant today. He's freaking out over every single thing that doesn't go right. Any tiny imperfection is leading to a massive meltdown.  He's still running a low grade fever, and is about waist deep inside of a fever flare.  Emmett is a difficult kid on a good day, but he's never like this unless he's in a fever flare. He's even more overly sensitive to all sensory input than he normally is and it's making things very unpleasant for him.  If we try to calm him down and comfort him, he just breaks down in tears.  Honestly, I'm really, really frustrated right now, because I'm so tired of being screamed at. I also understand that Emmett is absolutely miserable, and not enjoying things at all. I know…

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July 30, 2017
Read more about the article Sorry for my absence 
My thoughts

Sorry for my absence 

I'm sorry that I didn't write much yesterday. Lizze and I had a rough day, both physically and emotionally. We're still fighting a massive emotional hangover from an already long weekend.  Lizze and I took turns sleeping yesterday, because we were so exhausted.  I'm hoping that today will bring with it, some peace. The boys are doing okay, but it looks like Elliott may be getting sick because he was running a fever before he went to bed.  Emmett of course, is still dealing with a fever flare and miserable as ever.  I'm gonna be honest, my goal for today is to simply survive. 

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July 30, 2017