Depression Archives - Page 97 of 323

Navigating the nursing home with my #Autistic kids isn’t easy

I wanted to share a special moment from the other day. As you may recall, we recently lost Lizze's grandmother, my grandfather and now my grandmother is in heart failure. She's moved into a nursing home about five minutes away. She's been there for a couple of months, and it's been a difficult transition for her. The positive is that she's now safe, well cared for and much closer. She used to live ninety minutes away, and that made it so hard to see her when especially with our car. Anyway, we try to visit her as close to every day as we can. It's a difficult journey with the kids because her memory is not very good anymore and the other day, it didn't seem like she remembered us.…

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May 6, 2019

Contributed / Link / Sponsored Post

Did you know that #CBD for pets is a thing now?

I've always been fascinated by science, especially medical science. When I was a kid, I used to love reading the medical advances section of Readers Digest. I’ve a big believer in western medicine, but my eyes have recently been opened to other options. I've mentioned before that we've been exploring CBD products for Lizze in hopes of helping her better manage her chronic pain, including migraines. Traditional medicine wasn’t helpful, and after years of not being able to find any meaningful relief, something happened. Ohio recently legalized medicinal marijuana, and Lizze was able to obtain her Ohio medical marijuana card a few months ago. It's pretty much changed her life. CBD oil, which is THC free, has been very helpful as well. She only tried it in two forms, gummies…

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May 6, 2019

Autism Parenting Advice / My thoughts

Don’t let Monday defeat you

Just a quick note before I get my day underway. I hope you all have a great Monday. I know that Monday's can be rough, Lord knows mine usually are. Try to focus on the positives and also remember to celebrate the victories. Please be kind yourself and remember that self-care is an important part of being a caregiver. Don't let Monday defeat you and have a great day. 😀

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May 6, 2019

Autism Parenting Heartbreak / Emmett John / My thoughts

The reason my youngest is distressed is heartbreaking for me

There are times when I can distance myself from my feelings, focus on facts and remain objective. There are also times like tonight when I can't and emotions rule the roost. I've mentioned recently that Emmett, my youngest of three Autistic boys, is struggling lately. He's been the focus of recent family therapy sessions. Emmett is overwhelmed, frustrated and having a hard time coping with whatever's eating away at him. He's very reactionary, slow to open up and quick to anger. We've been trying to help him work through whatever this is but it's not going so well and he doesn't like to talk about it. I know that there are a few things bothering him and consuming his resources on a daily basis. There's probably more than that but…

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May 5, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

The struggle is real

Trips to public, busy and sensory unfriendly places don't always go well. It's pretty common for Autistic people to find themselves overwhelmed by all the sensory input that exists in abundance at places like Walmart.

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May 4, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

There’s never an in between

I mentioned earlier that Gavin appears to be more and more paranoid. Part of the concern is about his schizophrenic hallucinations and the direction they're currently heading in. He seems to be worried about bad guys watching him or something to that effect. That's not necessarily new, but we see it with more frequency lately. What's weird is his current obsession with his health. He's very focused on rather benign issues, and we've never seen him show any interest in his health before. He's continually coming to us with things like I just coughed, my nose is runny, I just had to blow my nose, my arm muscle just felt funny, there's saliva in my mouth, my toe hurt for a second, I sneezed twice, my knee cramped up, and…

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May 3, 2019

My thoughts

It’s been an unusual day

The day has gone by quickly for some reason. Lizze had an appointment this morning, and I had an interview with someone from the UK. I got my walking done and picked the kids up from school. Gavin has been mostly unseen today. He's dealing with a crisis in his world that has taken up most of his time today. Lizze and I are a bit concerned because Gavin is exhibiting signs of paranoia. He's talking about people in his worlds being out to get him, and he's also becoming very preoccupied with his health but in a weird way. I'll explain more about that later. Anyway, we've got one day left in the school week, and we're about three weeks out from the end of the school year. I'm…

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May 2, 2019

Akron Children's Hospital / Autism Parenting Struggles / Elliott / Psychiatry

It feels awful to know I’m failing my wife and kids

We had Elliott to Akron Children's Hospital yesterday. It was a routine follow up in behavioral health. We discussed any concerns we had. We talwdat things are going well and what needs work. We also follow up on medications and make sure we're still on the right track with that as well. I personally feel like Elliott is making a serious effort in many areas, and I made sure to bring that up. I'm incredibly proud of him because I know that life in our house isn't easy. That said, there are still things that he needs to work on as well. That's not anything against him at all. He's a newly minted teenager, and that's never easy, especially when Autism factors in. One of the things that Elliott is…

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May 2, 2019