SPD Archives - Page 157 of 173

My son with #Autism will no longer wear shoes

I really worried about this upcoming school year for Emmett. He hasn't tolerated shoes in almost 2 months. He's been wearing flip flops, which sorta seems odd but that's all he will wear. He has to wear shoes at school, flip flops won't cut it. I went out and bought him water shoes yesterday which he did wear for a bit before telling me they feel funny. The sensory issues he's been struggling with for most of his life have kicked into overdrive. At least that's how it seems. I don't know what I'm doing to do for school. Brushing doesn't help either because I've already been trying that. Between the bathroom and the sensory related clothing issues, I'm completely overwhelmed. These not only impact him but everyone else…

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August 29, 2015

My thoughts

#Autism, Hygiene and The Teenage Years O_o

There comes a point in my journey as a special needs parent, where I truly find myself in a place where I don't know what to do. I've found myself in one such place and I don't know what to do. Gavin is reaching a point where in many cases, it's think to breathe. God love him because he tries so hard but some of things he does just makes me want to scream. Here's something that happened yesterday that had me wanting to literally be able to climb inside his head and experience his thought process because I'm at a complete loss. Gavin's been having serious bladder issues and the medication that's supposed to help, isn't. There has always been a rule in the house that significantly limited…

27 Comments

August 29, 2015

Gavin / Immunology / IVIG Infusion / My thoughts

Did you know my oldest son doesn’t have a functioning immune system?

Gavin's infusion is underway as is our day. For those who don't already know, Gavin mysteriously lost his immune system a few years back, when all his fragile health issues suddenly began. To counter his lack of a functioning immune system, he receives IVIG twice a week. The process is simple but painful. It involves placing two small needles into his belly area and infusing GAMMAGARD or donated antibodies. This gives Gavin's immune system the soldiers it needs to fight of foreign invaders. Today is the second of his twice a week infusions. It's not the best situation in the world but it is working for now and his immune system hasn't gotten any worse in at least a year or two. Generally speaking, both Gavin and his body handle…

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August 28, 2015

Autism / My thoughts

One of the ways #Autism is challenging in everyday life

One of the more challenging aspects of being a special needs parent to three boys with Autism, is meal times. I haven't been able to get Emmett to eat much lately. It's really frustrating for me because I want my son to eat and it breaks my heart to know that sometimes, despite my best efforts, he just won't eat. This morning however, Emmett wanted to try Ritz Crackers and peanut butter. I made him four little sandwiches or which he actually ate two of them. That's a total of four crackers and bit of peanut butter. At this point, I'm grateful for this tiny little victory and hope to expand upon it in the future.

21 Comments

August 28, 2015

My thoughts

Special Needs Parenting is all consuming

As I'm laying in bed at night, sorta pondering the day I just finished up, I have these grandiose plans for the following day. All these things that I'm going to accomplish, like laundry, cleaning the bathroom or simply making the needed phone calls that are on my list of to-dos.. It seems so possible for those things to be tackled the following day and I feel a surge of motivation. When the following morning arrives, I usually haven't slept well and I can't for the life of me figure out where the previous nights motivation has run off to. That pile of laundry that I was totally talking shit to the night before, is just way too intimidating now and that bathroom I swore to myself I would scrub…

15 Comments

August 28, 2015

My thoughts

Challenging day but a better night

The boys and I had a rough afternoon. Well, the boys had a rough afternoon and I was driven completely bonkers. I mentioned in a previous post that I was going to take 3 kids, 2 unwillingly, to the park because Daddy needed to get the crazy train back on the tracks. We did just that. The boys and I met my parents at the Garden Center and we walked around there before walking the track. Elliott had a rough time because he couldn't do everything that he wanted to but we found a compromise and he found a bit of peace. 😊 I carried Emmett on my shoulders for a good while and when we made it back to the car, it was dark. The boys were in…

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August 28, 2015

My Crazy Life / My thoughts

There isn’t enough junk food in the world to keep my kids from driving me crazy today

We started out having such a good day but all good things must come to an end. 😫 The boys have been fighting for last few hours and I'm reasonably sure that my sanity hopped the last train to crazy town about 30 minutes ago. The fighters are Elliott and Emmett. They are just pushing each other's button like a boss. Gavin is driving me crazy for a much different reason. He's forgetting everything and I'm so tired of repeating myself this evening. I'm essentially having to micromanage Gavin's life during the day and I hate doing that. Gavin's level of functioning has been significantly reduced over the last couple of months and we lost much of the progress that's been made this past year. 😞 The boys and…

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August 27, 2015

My Projects / My thoughts

Teaching my kids a valuable lesson today

It's been a pretty good day so far in The Autism Dad house. The boys are in a good mood and we're spending some time this afternoon, cleaning up the house. I might try my very first Periscope broadcast as the boys put the toads they've raised this summer go back into nature. We'll be taking them to Stadium Park and going on a little hike to find the perfect spot to release them. The boys did a really good job of taking care of the toad family they rescued. Setting them free is the final piece of the puzzle and hopefully, that will happen this afternoon. My goal with this little project was to help teach my kids a valuable lesson about life and just how important/precious life is,…

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August 27, 2015