COVID19 Archives - Page 26 of 30

I spoke on ABC News tonight about the importance of masks

Last night, I was featured in an ABC News segment about the importance of wearing masks during the COVID-19 crisis. There is debate about the validity of people claiming medical exemptions in regards to wearing masks. For my part, I spoke to the challenges facing kiddos with neuro developmental disorders like autism and wearing masks during COVID-19. We discussed how my kids were doing with masks and how I helped them adjust to wearing them. I'm towards towards the end of the segment. I don't mince words when it comes to this because there's no excuse not to wear a mask. If someone has a condition that makes wearing a mask unsafe, and those conditions are few, they probably should be sheltering at home and avoid public spaces during a…

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July 29, 2020

My thoughts / School

Finalizing plans for this school year

I just got off the horn with the boys new school and they begin on August 17. We're still waiting on something for Emmett but they're finishing him up now. For the record, I will not be sending the kids to a brick and mortar school this year, as there is no universe in which that would be safe under the current circumstances. Lizze and I are in full agreement on this. The boys will be doing distance learning which means that it will be conducted online, with the entire curriculum provided. They receive laptops and do school for about 5.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. It's going to be an interesting transition but it is what it is. Their safety and wellbeing have to come first. What…

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July 28, 2020

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

#COVID19 requires new routines for my #autistic kids

I'm making some progress in the creating a new routine department and I'm pretty proud of myself. Actually, I'm proud of my kids as well because they're slowly adjusting. We're on day 143 or 144 of COVID19 lockdown and yes, it's a lockdown. We have been to the park a handful of times and spend time in our yard when it's safe, we are otherwise locked down. I'm following CDC guidelines for people at high risk. It's not a difficult concept folks. That's directed at the trolls who complain about my use of the word lockdown. One of my biggest challenges since schools shutdown has been establishing a routine. That's not an easy thing to do with autistic kiddos. The kids and I were still getting our footing after the…

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July 26, 2020

My thoughts

Everything surrounding #COVID19 is getting to us

Today has been one of those days where it's crystal clear that everything surrounding COVID-19 is getting to us. Everyone is grouchy and quick to jump down the others throat. The kids are fighting and when they're not, they're hiding in their phones or on the Xbox. Emotionally, I feel like I'm in a decent place but I'm exhausted. The last few nights I haven't been sleeping well because I started working out in the mornings and I'm still in the soreness phase. I hurt but it's a good hurt in my book. Anyway, I'm dropping the parenting ball right now because I'm not staying on top of everything. I'd like to have fun things planned out and I just don't. We're obviously limited in what we can do but…

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July 25, 2020

Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / School Related Issues / Vaccines

We had some #vaccine related hiccups

I wanted to explain the hiccup with school that we ran into. I mentioned this in a recent post and never circled back to explain. I figured I start the day off with some writing and this is a good place to start. The issue we ran into is with vaccines for both Elliott and Emmett. Vaccines are extremely important and for the most part, we've maintained their vaccine schedules. There were, however, a couple of exceptions. Emmett's issues stemmed from his fever disorder. After consultation with his pediatrician at the time, it was decided to put off his MMR because he was constantly running a fever. We were trying to figure out his health issues and no one wanted to muddy the water. He eventually received his first MMR…

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June 26, 2020

Confessions / COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts

Confessions: I’m worn out and overwhelmed

Today has me stressing out quite a bit. As lockdown drags on and on, it's getting harder and harder to make ends meet. This month has been absolutely horrible in that area and I'm really worried about what July is going to look like. Being a single Dad and full time caregiver to 3 Autistic kids, working from home has been my only option for many years. My main source of income is derived from this site and more recently, my podcast. Between sponsored posts, ad spots, affiliate and digital marketing, I've been able to make ends meet. Things have been a great deal harder since the pandemic hit. There are millions of families struggling right now and mine just happens to be one of them. Essentially, the bulk of my…

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June 21, 2020

COVID19 / Inspirational Posts / Lockdown / My thoughts

If my sensory sensitive kids with #Autism can wear a mask, WTF is your excuse?

I know I'm not writing nearly as often as I normally do and the truth is, depression is really kicking my ass. I'm still functional but definitely struggling. As of today, we've been on lockdown for 98 straight days. As you can probably imagine, it's running a bit long in the tooth at this point. Unfortunately, there simply isn't any other options. With Gavin being immunocompromised, there literally isn't another way to keep him safe. We're in this for the long haul and that's likely to be awhile. I've been hearing from readers both here and on social media, that their husband, wife, daughter, son or other loved one is immunocompromised as well and they're in the exact same boat. While my heart goes out to all the other families…

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June 11, 2020

My thoughts

It’s been a stressful day

It's been a pretty stressful day. We had a decent sized graduation party next door, where no one was wearing a mask or social distancing. Personally, I find that incredibly selfish and immensely frustrating. That being said, it could have been much worse. It was pretty low key and relatively quiet. Normally, it's very loud and obnoxious over there. I'm very grateful it wasn't any worse than it was.. I spent a large part of the day scrubbing carpets. Ruby has been peeing in the boys room, probably because she's stressed out. It's small enough that you don't notice it until it happens enough that the smell catches your attention. The carpet on the second floor is at least 50 years old and in awful condition. Scrubbing it really doesn't…

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June 1, 2020