clozapine – Page 112 – The Autism Dad

Gavin’s #IVIG infusion supplies never showed up and that worries me

Without going into the backstory again, Gavin is on IVIG twice a week because of his severely compromised immune system. You can read that backstory here. We received a notice from his insurance that they were no longer working with his current, longtime supplier and would be switching to a new company. This is potentially very problematic because this needs to run like a well oiled machine or there can be delays in his deliveries and that could potentially be life threatening. Lizze and I haven't even had a chance to call about this and we're already having a major problem. Gavin supplies were due to arrive last Friday and they never did. They also never arrived today and that means he's missed his infusion. He's missed quite a few…

7 Comments

January 29, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

I took my 3 #Autistic kids to the dentist today and this was the result

We're finally home from our out-of-town trip to the dentist. I ended up having to take the boys on my own. Lizze was ready to go with us but it was obvious that she was really, really pushing herself. As much as I needed her help and as much as I truly appreciate her willingness to go even though she was in so much pain, it was best for her to stay home. The boys and I left around lunchtime and made it there a few minutes early. It took about 45 minutes to get there and traffic was pretty good. Elliott was on the verge of a panic attack because all doctors terrify him. We're not sure what that's all about but he's always been this way and there's…

6 Comments

January 28, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

I’m taking my 3 #Autistic kids to the dentist this morning

Later this morning, I'll be taking all 3 boys to the dentist. If that weren't challenging enough, I may be doing this alone. Lizze was sick for most of the day yesterday and I'm not sure how she's doing today. I know she wants to go but there's only so much she can do. I'm not super thrilled about this but we'll figure it out. I don't anticipate any issues while at the dentist. The only one I know who has a potential problem is Emmett. He recently lost a tooth with a metal cap. The tooth behind it appears to have been damaged by the metal cap. It's hard to describe but it's only a baby tooth, so I don't expect them to aggressively do anything. Emmett isn't in…

1 Comment

January 28, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

How do you prioritize anything when everything is a priority?

As an Autism and Special Needs parent, I've found it very difficult is prioritize things. In a more typical situation, I would be able to decide what's important and what can be put in hold or brushed aside. Unfortunately, in my life, it's not that simple. Everyone in my house has very demanding needs and all of them are of equal importance, especially to the person concerned. While there are things that can always be put on hold, usually everything that's considered more everyday life kinda things, the vast majority can't. It's very difficult for me because in order to meet one person's needs, it feels like someone else's will have to go unmet and that's not okay. If one person has a 100 things that require their undivided attention,…

2 Comments

January 27, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / My thoughts

Poor Emmett is really struggling today and it’s heartbreaking

While Emmett's menu has expanded in recent years, he's still incredibly difficult to feed. There aren't that many things he finds sensory friendly or palatable and now he's associated stomach aches with some of those limited items.

6 Comments

January 27, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / My thoughts

I don’t know what we’re going to do because Emmett keeps getting sick when he eats

This post was originally meant to publish on Friday morning. This morning was a fucking nightmare. We're trying to work with Emmett to figure out why he's not feeling well, and at the same time, keep him in school as often as possible. His grades aren't an issue but new, very strict truancy laws are. Emmett woke up this morning and wasn't feeling well. His stomach was upset again and he was unable to eat. We've known about these stomach aches for a long time and we've been treating them as though are related to stress because we've ruled other medical issues out. It turns out that Emmett is getting nauseated everytime he eats. Sometimes this also results in abdominal pain but it's not indicative of anything specific. Autism, sensory,…

3 Comments

January 27, 2019

My thoughts / Podcast

3 Things You Need To Do When Your Child is Diagnosed with #Autism (S1 Ep1)

I'm experimenting with something new and I'm really interested in your feedback. Over the years, my main form of communication has always been in written form. Between this blog and social media, I've reached tens of millions of people but as times change, I need to try and evolve with them. Some of you know that I've been involved with several podcasts in the past and it's something that I really enjoyed doing. I'm always getting interview requests to be on other peoples podcasts but have never had one of my own. Most recently, I worked with my good friend Joel Manzer on Autisable Dad’s: Life with Autism. Joel does an amazing job and while I loved working on this with him, time became an issue for me. Check out…

3 Comments

January 26, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Elliott / My thoughts

I’m not a quitter but I wonder how long I can keep this up

We had a really rough night with Elliott. He's struggling a great deal emotionally and I don't know how to reach him. He's so angry, hurt and scattered but we aren't sure why because much of what he is upset about, never happened. His perception is often inaccurate and there is no convincing him that he's misunderstood or misinterpreted a situation. He feels that he's not loved or that he doesn't matter to us and I don't even know what to say. Of course he's loved and he absolutely matters. We tell him and show him that all the time but that message seems to be getting lost and that's a problem. We've spoken to his therapist at length about this. She's known us very well since before Lizze was…

10 Comments

January 25, 2019