Selfcare Archives - Page 62 of 94

Gavin is losing skills and it’s heartbreaking

We've come to the realization that Gavin's level of regression has reached a new low. This has actually been coming for a little while now but we've had to pull some responsibilities away from him today. For the last couple of years, Gavin has been doing the dishes. I don't know what it is about doing the dishes that he likes but he was very much into it. Unfortunately, that time has come to an end because he's simply unable to wash the dishes anymore. We've been needing to either have him redo some of what he's done incorrectly or go back and do it ourselves. It's unfortunate but it doesn't make sense to do them twice, just so Gavin feels like he's helping, Lizze and I are taking that…

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March 11, 2019

Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

We don’t always get to do what we want

Lizze is sick and the boys are driving me crazy. They have a ton of energy and are in desperate need of an outlet. Seeing as we can't really spend time in our yard, for various reasons, including safety, we need to find something else. The boys are bored of always going to the same park so I figured I'd take them hiking at Quail Hollow. I'm not really in the mood to take this on, especially alone but being a parent isn't always easy and we sometimes have to do things we don't feel like doing. It's actually a pretty nice day and it would be nice if we could take advantage of it. It's in the 50's and partly sunny, so why not do some hiking. On the…

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March 9, 2019

My thoughts / Reviews

ETY-Kids 5 Safe-Listening In-Ear Headphones by @WorldWideStereo (Review)

This brief review is a bit overdue as a result of a WordPress related glitch last week. I wanted to get this out there for parents who are worried about their kids damaging their hearing as a result of using headphones and listening at dangerously high volume levels. My Son Elliott has been using the Etymotic Research ETY-Kids 5 Safe-Listening In-Ear Headphones for a little while now. Elliott is huge into music and if he's awake, he's got earbuds in. He loves his Bose CQ 35 II NC headphones but can't wear them all the time. Lizze and I have been concerned about him damaging his hearing because he tends to listen at higher volumes. When I was approached to do this review, I jumped on it because Elliott loves…

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March 8, 2019

Emmett John / My thoughts

Yes there was a meltdown but I’m still super proud

We had another rougher morning with Mr. Emmett today. He was thrown off for a couple of reasons. For starters, he forgot to do his take-home work from yesterday. He was very upset with himself for that but he never forgets that kind of stuff. Secondly, he was going to school by himself because Elliott will be at Akron Children's Hospital today for an appointment. All of this culminated into a big old meltdown. Thankfully, Emmett was able to work through it. He got his work done and went to school on his own. When he hopped out of the car, he had a smile on his face and was in a good place. I reminded him on the way to school, that I was very proud of him. I…

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March 6, 2019

My thoughts

Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned morning #meltdown?

What a morning it's been. We had meltdowns before school over socks not feeling right and that sorta set the tone very early on. Meltdowns are never pleasant for anyone, but they're especially unpleasant for the person experiencing them. Morning meltdowns are pretty common in my house but they're not my preferred way to starting the day. Thankfully we recovered. After a quick trip to the school office to make sure about something for Mr. Emmett, he felt better and we were able put a check in the win column for at least getting the kids to school. We celebrate each victory as they come. 😉 Unfortunately, we had a hiccup in our plans for the rest of the day. Gavin was supposed to be in Cleveland this afternoon for…

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March 5, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

You may think me a bad parent for this..

In an effort to try and not internalize this, I'm going to be brutally honest. Gavin is driving me absolutely fucking crazy. I love him. I truly do and I know that for the most part, this isn't his fault, but holy shit, I'm going to lose what's left of my mind. Gavin is a really amazing person and he has so many admirable qualities. He's kind, helpful, respectful, never gives up, never complains and always has a smile on his face. Gavin is the kind of person who would do anything for anyone, even at his own expense. That being said, Gavin is also very difficult to coexist with. He talks incessantly, freaks out over every single mistake he makes, he tries to parent his younger brothers, manipulates and…

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March 4, 2019

My thoughts

I couldn’t be prouder

We have a somewhat busy day today. First of all, it's Elliott's birthday. He turned 13 years old over night but we actually celebrated last night. Happy birthday Elliott... We love so much and couldn't possibly be any prouder of who you are. ☺ We were originally looking at a possible snowday and that would have been cool, but it would have also complicated things today as well. Seriously though, who wouldn't want to have a snowday on their birthday. 😉 The reason it would have complicated things is because I have to get Lizze to the Cleveland Clinic this afternoon. If they'd had a snowday, it would have turned into a family trip. That's wouldn't have been good for anyone. As we get this week off to a start,…

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March 4, 2019

Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

Some #Autism parenting frustrations and obstacles

Last night was one of those rare moments in life where my wife and I had a childless house. While we might get a break or two a month, typically there's still someone home with us and makes it much less of a break. The reason for that is Gavin. Gavin causes too many problems with his brothers if all three of them are together at the same time. It triggers fighting and things get ugly. Unfortunately, there's really no getting through to Gavin because he's not one to learn from experience. Essentially, the problem arises from Gavin wanting his way, all the time when he's at either one of his Grandparents houses. He's very good at manipulation in these situations and as I said, it's very upsetting to his…

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March 2, 2019