Read more about the article Emotional distress
Elliott / My thoughts / School Related Issues

Emotional distress

Sunday was a tough day for Elliott. He's been struggling emotionally for awhile. We're working with Dr. Pattie to help him, but he's in a place where I'm not sure how to get through to him.  Much of what is eating him alive is in regards to school. He likes school but he's extremely frustrated with the behaviors of some of his classmates. Frankly, it sounds very much like typical stupid kid antics, and I've explained that to Elliott.  At the same time, some of what is upsetting him is actionable and I need to look into it.  Apparently, one of the kids sitting next to Elliott enjoys breaking pencils and has broken all fifteen of Elliott's new pencils. According to Elliott, he's approached his teachers and they haven't done…

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May 15, 2017
Read more about the article Whatever happens we’ll tackle it together
Emmett John / My thoughts

Whatever happens we’ll tackle it together

We had a rather long weekend, and I'm unsure of how Monday is going to start out. Lizze has had a really rough few days, and I tried to let her sleep as much as I could. I ended up falling asleep on the couch this afternoon because I was so exhausted from the past few days.  Emmett has been struggling, but able to wear a shirt all day on Saturday. Unfortunately, Sunday was not very kind to him and neither were his clothes.  He spent the first half of the day without any, but did eventually get dressed towards the end of the day. He's not been eating well and I'm concerned that we might be looking at back to back fever cycles. It's rare, but it's happened a…

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May 15, 2017
Read more about the article We’ve gone a full 24 hours 
Clothes / Emmett John / My thoughts / Sensory

We’ve gone a full 24 hours 

I want to take a minute and say that Emmett has been doing an awesome job for the last twenty-four hours. Towards the end of last week, Emmett was unable to wear a shirt.  It's a sensory processing thing, and there wasn't anything I could do to help him. He ended up missing school on Thursday and Friday, as a result of not being able to tolerate a shirt.  I'm tentatively excited because Emmett has been wearing a shirt for the last twenty-four hours. I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come, because we could use a good week. There's only two weeks of school left, and I'd like to make the best of it. ☺ 

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May 14, 2017
Read more about the article Pictures from our #Autism family adventure 
Gallery / My thoughts

Pictures from our #Autism family adventure 

While Lizze was resting today, I took the boys for a hike. We went about two-ish miles, and everyone made it to the end.  Mr. Emmett needed to make about a dozen or so stops to fix his crocs, but he did so and continued on. We all had fun, explored nature and got some exercise.  I told the boys that perhaps after Lizze wakes up, we'll go to a playground, and maybe get some ice cream to celebrate Mother's Day a bit early. ☺  Below are some of the pictures I took from our hike today. 

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May 13, 2017
Read more about the article Screams of terror were heard all through the house
Emmett John / My thoughts

Screams of terror were heard all through the house

Just as I was brushing my teeth last night, getting ready to go to sleep, Emmett woke up in a panic. I was in the bathroom and out of habit, I closed the door behind me.  Emmett ran into my room and saw that I was gone. He ran downstairs, thinking I was sleeping in the couch or something. When he didn't find me there, he just began screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a scream that immediately conveyed terror.  When I opened the bathroom door to go get him, he was standing right there. It sorta freaked me out a bit because I didn't hear him come back up the stairs.  He was standing there, sorta swaying back and forth, like he was trying to keep…

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May 13, 2017
Read more about the article On a lighter note….. 
Feeling Blessed / Gallery / My thoughts

On a lighter note….. 

Lizze and I had a relatively quiet night, after the boys went to bed. Noone came down because they all fell asleep. ☺  Anyway, I wanted to share a few things that I felt were really positive. Maybe not so much positive, but pleasant for me personally. This may seem kinda dumb but I spent some time rebuilding the ferret pen tonight.  We have been have a problem with Lemme. She keeps letting herself out, because she enjoys wandering the house. She never causes any harm, but we don't want her getting hurt or getting into something she shouldn't.  Lemme is crazy smart. She will exploit any possible way to get out of her pen. It's truly amazing to see how she thinks. Thank God she's the only smart one,…

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May 13, 2017
Read more about the article Sometimes it’s hard to keep moving forward
Emmett John / My thoughts / School Related Issues / Sensory

Sometimes it’s hard to keep moving forward

Sometimes it's really hard to find the strength to pick up and continue moving forward. There are days when the idea of continuing to keep moving ahead, is so completely overwhelming.  Poor Emmett has now gone almost two days without being able to tolerate a shirt. This is a newer thing for us, because we're used to the big issue being shoes, socks, and pants. Shirts have never really been a significant issues in regards to school.  Unfortunately, the last two days have presented us with an obstacle that we were unable to overcome.  Missing school is not something we take lightly, but neither are Emmett's Autism related struggles. We have to balance compassion and societal demands.  We all know that kids have a long sorted history of wanting to…

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May 12, 2017
Read more about the article It’s been almost 12 hours and still no progress
Emmett John / My thoughts / School Related Issues / Sensory

It’s been almost 12 hours and still no progress

It's currently pushing 5:30 PM, and Emmett still won't tolerate a shirt. We've tried a few times throughout the day, but haven't made any progress. I'm thinking it's best not to push him at this point because we want him to be able to wear one tomorrow morning.  I spoke with the principal this afternoon, as a result of him reading a comment from the previous post. The comment stated the Emmett missed 42 days of school, and did so in a way that made it seem like the person commenting was a staff member at the school.  I told him that I wasn't upset, if indeed it was a staff member, but I was curious if the number was right or not. He was really upset because it seems…

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May 11, 2017