When your special needs kid turns 18, there’s a ton of shit you have to worry about

We just finished meeting with Social Security. Gavin has to requalify for permanent disability now because he's eighteen years old. The appointment only took about an hour and that's not too bad. I felt terrible because there were people without appointments who'd already been waiting almost five hours for a possible walk-in appointment. That absolutely sucks. Anyway, we answered all the necessary questions and they were really good with Gavin. Now we wait four or five months and see what happens. I'm still his payee and there was no paperwork needed for that. When Lizze and I gain permeate guardianship, I'll have to submit those papers but it doesn't really change anything. They will be pulling all of Gavin's medical records since his last appoval and using that to determine…

1 Comment

Daddy’s in timeout and it’s a teachable moment

Despite all the positive thoughts and optimistic approach to this morning, it's become a fucking nightmare. Emmett is freaking out, Elliott is not being super cooperative and Gavin won't stop talking to me. I swear to God, if I had any hair left, I'd be pulling it out right now. I'm taking a few minutes to myself right now and putting myself in timeout. I figured I would make this a teachable moment and hopefully something positive will come from this disaster. Rather than continue beating my head into the wall and losing what little sanity I have left, I'm putting myself in timeout for a few minutes. I'm someone who has a great deal of patience with my kids but even I have my limits. Without question, I've reached…

1 Comment

I’m really going to have to buckle down today

We've got a busy day tonight and our success depends on whether or not Emmett makes it to school. It's more important that we get out the door on time because we have to have Gavin's bloodwork done and get Lizze to a doctors appointment before 9 AM. I try to be positive but I have a bad feeling about how things are going to go with Emmett in the morning. After all of the morning chaos, I have to get Gavin to Social Security for his review. I'm hoping beyond hope that they don't want to have me discuss Gavin's status in front of him. I like to include Gavin in his own care when it's appropriate but talking about all the problems he's having isn't something I want…

0 Comments

We might be approaching the end of the road

This fever flare is driving me nuts. I know it's worse for Emmett but I'm still having a really hard time getting him to eat anything. He's had a bit of yogurt, some pudding and I just got him to eat some brown rice. The brown rice was a pretty big surprise actually. The problem is that he's not eating much and there's very little that we can pack in his school lunch and be sure he'll eat any of it. He's not being picky, he's just in a tremendous amount of pain. He's getting a new sore on his cheek and that's probably what's keeping him from eating now. He's been complaining about it today. Thankfully, that's one of the only new sore he's presented with for a couple…

0 Comments

He’s not a typical kid and this isn’t a typical situation

I'm concerned that Emmett is going to be very difficult to get to school in the morning. His mouth sores are getting better but he still has a big one on the inside of his lip and it hurts me just to look at it. Poor Emmett is still in pain but we're sending him to school and as of bedtime, he's okay with that. He was worried about his pants but we told him he can wear his old pants. Shirts won't be too big of an issue and neither will his crocs. The big issue, or rather the two big issues will be his lunch and his makeup work. He's very worried about what he's going to eat for lunch because a lot of things still hurt his…

0 Comments

Coping Mechanisms: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

This is a collaborative post and may not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of this blog or its author.   Whether you have a son with challenges, from autism to ADHD and beyond, or you are dealing with other difficulties in the family, it can take a toll. Watching the people you love suffer and dealing with the stress, anxiety, and setbacks of fighting it with them will affect you. When most people deal with significant difficulty in their life, they look for coping mechanisms. In doing so, they make themselves vulnerable. If you find yourself being drawn to certain kinds of behavior or coping mechanisms, you have to try and sort the good from the bad as soon as possible.Image Source The bad When we deal with stress,…

1 Comment

Teamwork is the only reason we survive

Lizze is still under the weather with a stomach thing and was unable to go with us to celebrate my Mom's birthday last night. She needed her rest and the best way to do that is without the kids bringing down the house around her. lol The boys and I had a lot of fun last night, a little too much fun actually. Holy crap were they bouncing off the walls both while we were there and when we got home. After a couple of hours, I had all I could take and we mad a graceful exit. There ended up being a ton of people present and that gets the boys overly excited. Bedtime was a serialistic nightmare but they did finally go to bed. Lizze didn't sleep well…

0 Comments