daddy blogs – Page 155 – The Autism Dad

How did the toughest day of my life turn out?

Considering what today was, I think I did pretty well. Progress was made on the divorce papers and that's a positive thing for both of us. This past year has been the toughest of my life but I've discovered just how strong I truly am. The boys will be going to visit their Mom and Grandparents tomorrow and I while I don't like being away from from kids, I'm happy they get to go. Frankly, I'm feeling burnt out and in need of a break. Maybe I'll treat myself to a burrito at Chipotle tomorrow night for dinner. I'm emotionally drained and just need some time to myself but I made it through the day. That's something I'm really proud of.

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September 3, 2015

Artwork / Emmett John

Art by Emmett: Sadness

I wanted to share Emmett's little coloring page he did the other day. He loves Inside Out colored this picture of Sadness. I love sharing my kids art because it always brightens someone's day... 😀❤️👍

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September 3, 2015

Divorce / My thoughts

Today will be one of toughest days of my life

Twelve years ago today, I married my best friend. Twelve years ago today, was the best day of my life, aside from my kids being born. Rather than celebrating 12 years of marriage today, I will be sitting down with my wife and finishing up our divorce papers. I certainly wouldn't have picked today to do this it needs to get done. Truthfully, I'm not even sure she knew what the date was when she setup this little project for today. Like I said, it needs to get done. It's just that today is hard enough as it is and this is sorta like insult to injury. I don't want my marriage back because it turns out that it wasn't what I thought it was and she isn't who…

16 Comments

September 3, 2015

Autism / My thoughts

#Autism and a new school year

No one wanted to get up this morning. Elliott doesn't want to go to school anymore and I'll explain that later on. Emmett was pretty much super grumpy. That being said, they did pull it together and we are essentially ready a full 20 minutes before we have to leave. 👍 I know this kinda change isn't easy for my kids and so I try to help them adjust as much as possible. When dealing with kids on the Autism Spectrum, the things that are the most challenging are the ones most people would take for granted. Managing changes like the start of a new school year, takes patience, understanding, compassion and did I say patience?

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September 3, 2015

Akron Children's Hospital / Gavin

Here’s what happened at the pediatrician yesterday

I had to get Gavin into the pediatrician yesterday afternoon because of his bladder problems. First of all, it needs to be understood that Gavin's ability to tell me things like how he's feeling, pain levels, how often he goes potty or anything about potty issues for that matter, is significantly hindered by cognitive/developmental issues. Having said that, he's been having bladder issues since he restarted the Clozapine last year. My understanding was that he had very frequent and sudden urges to pee. That's what I've witnessed and he's been able to explain. Yesterday he informed me that most of the time when he tries to pee, nothing comes out. That new information may or may not be reliable because it comes from Gavin and he just really struggles with…

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September 3, 2015

Clozapine Crisis / Gavin / Schizoaffective Disorder

BAD NEWS: Gavin’s still seeing and hearing things that aren’t real :(

First of all, I'm sorry for the less than frequent updates over the last few days. With school starting and a few other things going on, I've been distracted. - Rob I don't think there's a day that goes by where I'm not worried about Gavin for one reason or another. Yesterday, he told me that he still sees Sonic and that he's never gone away. He told me that he just didn't talk about him because his brothers were always home and he knows it's confusing for them. On one hand, I'm touched by the fact that he's cognizant enough to handle it that way, assuming that it's actually true. On the other hand, I'm worried because the fact that he's still hearing and seeing things that aren't real,…

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September 2, 2015

My thoughts

How did the kids do on their first day of school?

Update: This should have posted yesterday. Not sure what happened. The boys had an amazing first day of school, even though it was cut a bit short for Emmett's physical therapy. No one had any complaints accept Emmett said his pizza was too soft so he didn't eat it. I'm not sure what that's all about. All he and Elliott would eat last year was cold pizza for lunch. It's the exact same pizza, packed the exact same way and he didn't even touch it. Although, to be honest, he didn't really eat his lunch last year either now that I think about it. I'm so please that everything went well for them. I'm doubly pleased that Emmett's still liking his shoes and willing to keep wearing them. I was…

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September 2, 2015

Gavin / My thoughts

I’m taking Gavin into the doctors today

Not that I relish the idea of another doctors appointment but I'm taking Gavin into his pediatrician this afternoon. The issues he's facing with his bladder are such that I want to make sure we rule out any type of infection. It was ruled out a few months back but his symptoms have gotten much worse and so I'm wanting to make sure everything is still okay. I'll pick up the boys after school and take them to my Mom.. She's gonna hangout with them while I take Gavin. I'm pretty sure that today's appointment will show that there's no infection but if there's a chance, I want to rule it out. Gavin needs relief ASAP and this is something I can do while waiting to get into the Cleveland…

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September 2, 2015