I just want to say that I am really putting it out there with this blog post. Today the proverbial "sh@t" hit the fan. Gavin was really struggling today. We were repeating ourselves over and over. He kept doing things to get himself in trouble. We would correct him and it seemed like 5 mins later he was doing it again. Everything came to a head tonight about 6pm. Gavin was sent upstairs to spent some time reading prior to going to sleep. He went up and then wanted to read the same book over and over. We asked him to pick a different book today because we are trying to keep him moving forward with his reading. That was all it took. He lost it. He was screaming as…

As time goes by it becomes more and more apparent that Gavin (although the oldest) is the little brother to Elliott Richard. I was watching them play together (they have to be supervised) and Gavin will do something to Elliott Richard to upset him like the other day he said " Elliott it's nothing personal but I'm just wondering why you are in school yet. Why aren't you in school?". This is a very sensitive issue with Elliott Richard. Right now he is on a waiting list for preschool. He desperately wants to go to school and Gavin knows it. So when he says things like this it causes all sorts of problems. Elliott Richard will cry and we will send Gavin to his room to give everyone a break.…

As I have stated before Gavin has a really rare form of aspergers. He actually floats along the spectrum. No one knows why he does that. We are beginning to hit another cycle of regression. Gavin seems to cycle between high functioning and low functioning. When he hits a regression cycle he becomes unable to do things he was able to before. It lasts for a little while and then he cycles back. As parents it's extremely frustrating because we never really know if he can or cannot do something. We can usually tell by his body language but not always. It figures that it would happen over spring break. The past few days have been pretty tough to bare. He isn't listening and is not always making sense when…

We are waiting to hear from Children's Hospital on when Emmett John will be run through the autism clinic. But as time is going by we are noticing more and more signs. I'm hoping we don't have to wait forever to get into the clinic. I would rather just know for sure so we can get all the early intervention things in place. LT

So Gavin's depakote was doubled a couple of weeks ago and so we needed new bloodwork to check his liver and the depakote levels. Wednesday Emmett John had his follow up from the ABR so while we were there we scheduled Gavin for the following day. Thursday morning rolls around and his appointment is a nurse only appointment at 10 am. It was set up like this so he didn't have to wait there by reducing his over all anxiety. So Lizze gets there and they are waiting and one of the nurses come out and tell her they aren't going to do the blood work because it's to soon. Keep in mind that Gavin has a standing order for blood work. So we just go in when we need…

I had big issues trying to migrate our business website to a new host. As a result I had to start from scratch. I have been fixing computers for many years. I have worked for Microsoft for about 12 years now. My last project I worked on was Windows 7. I have been using Windows 7 for a few years now. After I destroyed my back while I was a firefighter/paramedic I needed a way to continue to provide for our family. As our family life became more "complicated" and my back continued to get worse we decided to pursue the computer repairs (that I was doing for everyone anyway) and grow it into a home business. Things have slowed down since Emmett John came along really because our attention…

My wife and I have never put any stock in the whole vaccine debate. I have to admit that I just trusted our doctors and never really researched the whole debate.  That changed when we were advised by our sons psychiatrist to re-evaluate our stance for Emmett John. Read my post here: http://wp.me/pQI30-3a Anyway, we have been researching a ton lately and have begun seeing the vaccine and autism debate for what it is. Does anyone even know how the debate got started? If not you should Google the name ""Dr. Andrew Wakefield". The whole debate was started over a now completely discredited research (and I use the term loosely) study. It was based on false information that was apparently "unethically" obtained.  This guy is currently under review to have…

I found this article today while doing some research. I thought it was a good read. I'm not sure who wrote it. The article can be found here: (or read below) http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-02-07/opinion/17848204_1_andrew-wakefield-vaccines-autism A reality check on autism and vaccines February 07, 2010 Many worried and angry parents of an autistic child believe that vaccines may cause the disease. But it's pure myth - disproved by numerous studies and now a final slap from a British journal disowning a report that started the dangerous nonsense. Will these parents accept reality - and allow their children to receive shots against a dozen or more illnesses? And will fringe groups that play to fears of autism give up their indefensible claims? The answers can't come soon enough for public health experts. Vaccination rates,…