special needs children Archives - Page 163 of 172

John Oliver exposes how televangelists are ripping people off, in a hilarious way Must See

If you haven't seen John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, you're missing out. Tune in every Sunday on HBO... I wanted to start sharing these because not only are his monologues amazing, they're also incredibly entertaining as well. We all need to laugh and this is a great way to actually learn something while you're doing it.. This is probably not appropriate for kids... https://youtu.be/7y1xJAVZxXg

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August 17, 2015

My thoughts

We’ve begun our back to school rehearsals

Kids on the Autism Spectrum are creatures of habit that typically don't do well with change. My kids are no exception. When it comes to starting back at school, I've found that if we begin practicing our back to school routine a head of time, it sorta smooths out the transition a little bit. My kids go back to school on September 1st and so I've begun practicing bedtimes and wake up times with the boys. I've set their bedtime for 9pm and wake up time for 7:15am. My goal is to give them a little bit of time to adjust to everything before they have no choice. I'm getting excited because in about two weeks, I'll finally be somewhat of a break during the day. I'll still…

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August 17, 2015

Gavin / My thoughts

Gavin’s developed a bad habit and I can’t seem to break him of it

Gavin is such a good kid and he's come such a long way over the last year. Lately however, I've been seeing quite a few steps backwards and it's got me a little bit worried. It's really kinda bizarre because as he's slipping, as I have affectionately dubbed it, some old behavioral issues are resurfacing once again. I fear before too long, I'm going to be seeing full fledged meltdowns/tantrums again but that's for another post at another time. For the last few weeks, I've been trying to get Gavin to stop pointing with his middle finger. If you didn't know him, he would honestly appear to be telling you silently, to fuck off. That's not what he's doing but I can think of a million situations this could get him…

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August 17, 2015

Weird Shit I Catch My Kids Doing

The Weird Shit I Catch My Kids Doing :)

While it shouldn't be any state secret that special needs parenting can be extremely challenging, it can also be very entertaining as well. One of the things I love most about each of my kids is the way their mind works. I just love it because quite often, you can just see the gears turning as they are contemplating whatever it is they're focused on in that moment. This evening, Emmett kept going up and down the stairs. Everything he came back down, he would tell me that Blue, his cat is still in the same place he's been for awhile. At first I just told him that cats don't always move around a lot during the day but throughout the evening, he was very persistent about Blue not…

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August 16, 2015

YouTube Video

The Lighter Side of #Autism: This is how we watch TV in The Autism Dad house

I thought I would try and record some of the signature Autism, ADHD and Sensory related things my kids do without even realizing it. Mr. Emmett has this constant need to bounce and the most constructive/nondestructive means by which he can fill this sensory related need is by using a yoga ball. I don't let him do this when he's eating for obvious safety reasons but watching TV, playing video games and just about everything else can make use of this little sensory tool. https://youtu.be/FAssgciwibA

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August 16, 2015

About / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

The Autism Dad Origin Story

UPDATE: Our journey has changed once again and you can read about that here. As I'm slowly rebuilding my readership, traffic and reach on this new blogging journey, I thought it would be helpful to share why write about my life. It's new information for some and a reminder for others. If you've been a reader since Lost and Tired, there have been some changes, but my writing should still be largely recognizable. Part of me hated to walk away from what I'd built with Lost and Tired over the past 6 years, but part of me feels a sense of relief and excitement. Lost and Tired was the real life story of two parents raising three special needs kids. It was raw, gritty but beautiful and inspiring at the…

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August 16, 2015

My thoughts

What I’m looking forward to the most as my kids go back to school

With my kids returning to school on September 1st, there are a few things that I'm looking forward to. Honestly, I'll miss them but to say that I desperately need a break would be a gross understatement. This has been my very first summer as a full time single parent and it's been a lot of things but easy hasn't been one of them. I've struggled in many areas but one of the toughest has been my battle with depression. This has been an on again off again battle since I was a teenager but I was doing pretty well. Unfortunately, divorce can put people into a tailspin and I'm no exception. Nothing went as I had planned this summer and we basically just survived. Truth be told, that in-and-of-itself is…

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August 16, 2015

Today's Victory

Today’s Victory: A Few Moments of Peace

As difficult as Saturday was, we weren't without our little victories.. As I mentioned in the previous post, Emmett really struggled today and there wasn't much I could do to provide him comfort and relief. I was able to keep him distracted for a little while by playing Minecraft together. We just sorta snuggled on the couch and he would join my Minecraft world. 😀 It brought him a little bit of peace and it's honestly really fun.. I'm tossing this into the win column.

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August 16, 2015