Read more about the article Perhaps you can learn from my mistakes
Autism Parenting Advice / My thoughts

Perhaps you can learn from my mistakes

It's such a fine balance when it comes to telling a child with Autism something that's' going to cause any type of anxiety. It doesn't matter if the anxiety is waiting for a package to show up in the mail or knowing they are getting a flu shot. Speaking to my personal experience, my wife and I try very hard to limit situations like this whenever possible. There are times in which it isn't possible or we make the mistake to saying something a head of time with the goal of preparing them for an upcoming event, either good or bad. We are currently dealing with two kids who are terrified of getting their flu shots. most kids don't like shots but they are a very important part of maintaining…

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November 6, 2017
Read more about the article Today will be nonstop appointments
My thoughts

Today will be nonstop appointments

It's going to be a crazy chaotic kinda day. The boys go to school in the morning, and I immediately take Gavin for his blood work. From there we head straight to Dr. Reynolds office to follow up on Gavin's labs and decide if we are going to pull the Clozapine. Shortly after we finish up there, we have to pull the boys from school and head to Cleveland for an appointment with their immunologist. Emmett's appointment is a follow-up, as is Gavin and Lizze's. Elliott's is a follow-up as well but with the added issue of his near constant fevers. I'm not sure how that's going to go. After that, all four of them will likely get their flu shots. As I'm not a patient there, I'll be going…

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November 5, 2017
Read more about the article If I still had hair I’d be ripping it out
My thoughts

If I still had hair I’d be ripping it out

I'm getting frustrated because my two sensory sensitive kiddos are not eating anything we have in the house, aside from Goldfish crackers. This is so frustrating because we have a decent amount of food in the house and they won't eat any of it. Last week I spent $200 at the grocery store and for whatever reason, none of it is palatable to them. I should stress that they aren't being difficult for the sake of being difficult. This is the result of sensory processing disorder and I'm not mad at them for this because it isn't their fault. At the same time however, I'm still frustrated and if I had any hair left, I'd be pulling it out. Knowing it's not their fault doesn't necessarily make it any easier…

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November 5, 2017
Read more about the article Poor Gavin is devastated
Gavin / Meltdowns / My thoughts

Poor Gavin is devastated

Poor Gavin is having a rough morning. He'd been saving up for a $15.00 game on his tablet called Adventures in Mana. On Friday evening, I bought the game for him because he's been such a big help around the house, I felt he deserved a surprise. He was super excited and has been loving the game all weekend. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive but many people were complaining about game breaking bugs. Gavin wasn't worried about that because he liked the game so much. Unfortunately, about an hour ago, he stumbled across one of those game breaking bugs and it definitely breaks the game. He's so upset that he's been in his room crying for almost thirty minutes now. He wants to be left alone so we're respecting his…

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November 5, 2017
Read more about the article Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder in laymen’s terms
Clothes / Feeding Problems / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts / Sensory

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder in laymen’s terms

What Is Sensory Processing Disorder? Sensory Processing Disorder is hands down that most frustrating part of being an Autism parent, at least for me. For those unfamiliar with what I'm referring to when I say sensory issues, let me explain. Sensory processing disorder is a condition that is very common in both kids and adults with Autism. What happens is their brains don't properly interpret Sensory input correctly and this can be very problematic for them. Sensory Processing Disorder can impact adults as well. I'm specifically referring to kids because that's where my experience lies. Please don't take that as anything else. Kids with sensory processing disorder are hypersensitive to things like color, sight, sound, light, taste, texture, smells, and especially touch. How these sensitivities impact their lives can and…

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November 4, 2017
Read more about the article #Depression is bad but I can’t give up
Depression / My thoughts

#Depression is bad but I can’t give up

I have a confessions to make. Since our trip to Florida at the beginning of October, my fitness and weight-loss efforts have been out of sync. Prior to our trip, I was doing pretty well. It wasn't easy, and I still struggled sometimes, but I was moving in the right direction. While we were gone, sticking to my diet was not really possible because of options available at the time. That being said, I still could have made better choices. I had been telling myself that once I get back home, I'll pick up where I left off. As it turns out, that's easier said than done. My discipline has gone right out the window and while I'm not gaining weight, I've stopped losing it. Lizze and I talked about…

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November 4, 2017
Read more about the article Gavin’s brain is getting worse
Autism Parenting Insight / Elliott / Gavin / My thoughts

Gavin’s brain is getting worse

Gavin has been having serious mental and physical health problems for almost his entire life. As far as Elliott and Emmett are concerned, they've never known any different. To them, Gavin has always been like this and they never knew him before he began to change. Something that we have probably not done enough of, is sitting the two youngest down and explaining to them what Gavin is going through. There are times that they tease Gavin because they don't realize that Gavin has zero control over his inability to do or not do certain things. As an example, Gavin can't tell the difference between two of our ferrets. Tiny and Lemme do look very much alike but their faces are different. The rest of us can see the difference…

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November 4, 2017