Can #ADHD make it difficult for kids to fall asleep? 

It's now pushing midnight as I'm writing this and Mr. Elliott is still awake. He's having the hardest time falling asleep lately. Emmett was the one struggling for so long and now that he's doing better, Elliott is trading places with him. I'm not sure what this is all about, or how to help him through this. Tonight is the first time that I'm going to leave him to his own devices, rather than take him downstairs to sleep on the couch. By own devices I mean, he has to stay on the second floor and not wake up his brother. He's all snuggled up in his bed, watching something on Netflix. This is typically what I would do if we camped out in the living room. He knows Lizze…

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A few things I’m looking forward to this week

As we begin the new week, I'm feeling hopeful that things will be getting better. There will be new doors opening for us and I'm very optimistic that we can make some forward progress. It's also going to be a rather busy week as well. At last count, we have roughly a dozen appointments before the end of the week but most of them are local. That's always a good thing.. ☺ Emmett and Gavin will have Speech and Occupational Therapy on Tuesday. Both of them are looking forward to that. On the topic of Occupational Therapy, there will be a big change in store for Emmett. He's going to begin working with a peer during therapy and that's really cool. It gives him a chance to practice his social…

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Can you relate to this 1 major challenge of #Autism Parenting? 

I find it incredibly difficult to ensure that my kids with Autism maintain a balanced diet. For that matter, I have such a hard time simply getting my kids to eat anything. We are very much a sensory oriented family and that presents many obstacles for me as a parent. The biggest being how unbelievably sensitive my two youngest are when it comes to things like texture, smell, color, presentation, shape and yes, even packaging. When there is literally only a handful of things your child will eat, aiming for a balanced diet becomes a pipe dream. How many of you can relate to my experience? Please share examples of your challenges with feeding issues in the comments below...  

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The biggest thing working against me today 

The boys have been doing pretty great this morning. Gavin's struggling a little bit, but overall, a pretty smooth morning. Lizze had a rough time falling asleep because she's not yet adjusted to her new medication adjustments. She fell asleep really late and was up early with the boys. This meant I was able to sleep in for a change. I'm super grateful for that.. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling so well today. I don't know if I'm getting sick or what but I certainly feel as though I am. I may try to close my eyes in order to try and shake this but I'm not sure if that's gonna help.

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My thoughts on this scary new world we find ourselves in 

I'm writing this entry, not as an Autism Dad but rather a human being. I've been very closely following all that's been going on since the shocking conclusion of last year's election. Like the majority of the country, I'm greatly concerned about the rather dramatic shift our homeland has taken. Hate crimes are on the rise and we are judging people based solely on ethnicity or race. Many women are worried about losing rights over their own bodies. I won't criticize anyone who actually took themselves to the polls and voted, regardless of who they voted for. I commend everyone that exercised their right to vote for our country's commander in chief. While my candidate didn't win, I respect the process and I respect the office. Without sharing too much…

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Here’s what happened tonight 

Lizze and I had a really quiet night tonight. We caught up on some shows and just enjoyed the stress free time. While Lizze was sleeping, I made some major progress on bringing the My Autism Help Forums back online and a part of The Autism Dad site. You'll notice a new tab at the top of this page called Forums. That will take you to the support forums. I'm working on better integration but for now, you have to sign up and sign in to use the forums, if you haven't already. If you signed up previously, you should be good to go. Facebook connect works and that's the fastest way to get up and going. Feel free to check it out.  I also updated the mobile app and…

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Let the celebration begin

The boys both had great days at school today. Emmett melted down on the way home and for a little while after arriving, because of how literally he sees things. I'll share more later. After we worked through all that, we finished getting the boys ready to go to their grandparents for the night. They ended up leaving about an hour ago and won't get home until tomorrow afternoon-ish. Lizze went to bed after they left because she's struggling a bit today and needs her rest. I'm enjoying a little time to myself before we settle in for the night. While Lizze is sleeping, I'm writing and watching this movie on Netflix called, Sacrifice. It's a bit weird but I'm gonna give it a chance.  ☺

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1 big reason I’m super excited today

It's finally Friday and the very long week is coming to a close. What better way to celebrate than shipping the kids off to their grandparents house for the night. I love my kids, but holy shit do I need a break. I know Lizze does as well. The kids are equally excited about going and Gavin's been packed since this morning. He's been counting the minutes all day. I don't get paid until next week so it will be a poor man's date night, but we can certainly enjoy a quiet house, some Netflix and an uninterrupted nights sleep. Sleep is the main selling point here for us. I'm so grateful for tonight's break and I'm once again reminded that we are lucky to have such supportive family, on…

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