I want to share something with all if you that I have never shared before because I am ashamed.  Perhaps your imaginations are running wild, but it's nothing really bad.  Either way, it's something I'm not proud of but I'm no longer going to allow this to control me. You might remember how I push for special needs parents to take care of themselves.  This is something that I take very seriously myself and here's why.  I used to be a body builder and was in really, really good shape.  I would hit the gym daily and I took really good care of myself. In my prime, I was right around 220 lbs and solid muscle. Everything changed after  I suffered a major back injury and I eventually became a…

As a parent to a special needs child, it can be very easy to find yourself in uncharted territory. There is never a set of directions telling you what to do.  So often, I find myself in a situation where there are  no good choices.  Sometimes, I literally have to choose from several bad ideas and pick the one that's less worse than the others.  It's important to know that sometimes you are going to make mistakes.  We weren't picked for this job because we were perfect.  We were picked for this job because despite everything that can and will go wrong, we are somehow the best fit.  Speaking for myself, I frequently question why I'm the best fit, especially when I can't seem to do anything right.  Thankfully, we…

Why is it that so many people in the Autism Community feel that you have no right to advocate and raise awareness for Autism if you aren't Autistic yourself? I'm sorry but this is something I find incredibly frustrating and short sighted.  Not to mention counterproductive. I would never presume to be a voice for anyone else but my own family.  My number one priority is to advocate for my own kids until they have a voice of their own.  When my children are this young, I feel that it's my responsibility to help educate the world about my kids, while I work to educate my kids about the world.  When they are ready to speak for themselves, I'll stand with them in support. I absolutely agree that the Autistic…

One of the toughest and most helpless feelings when it comes to special needs parenting is the feeling of isolation. It's so easy to feel that way because it can be so incredibly difficult to find any type of support.  All too often parents get discouraged because of a lack of support.  Let's just be honest, there aren't too many things that are more difficult than special needs parenting.  Having said that, sometimes you have to turn to the Internet to make connections and find moral support. Unfortunately, there aren't a great many places to go.  There is a a lot of bullying that takes place online and that really tends to scare people off and who can blame them. This is precisely why I created the My Autism Help…

There are days where we experience Autism in full force.  On these days, the boys are likely having a ton of difficulty with things.  They may be overstimulated or struggling with more sensory issues than normal. Part of what's so overwhelming for us as parents is the screaming and inability to really help them through what they are experiencing. These are the days where I may have to remake breakfast, lunch and dinner, several times because someone is refusing to eat because something is wrong with their chicken nuggets. Lizze and I refer to these days as a day full of Autism. We don't mean it in a bad way.  It's just one of those days when the boys will experience more of the outward symptoms and are much more…

I already posted this picture on the Lost and Tired community page on Facebook but I wanted to share the victory with all of you as well.  Lizze and I went walking this afternoon.  I talked about that earlier. What I neglected to mention, was where the kids were at the time.  Well, the boys were hanging out with my Mom for a little while yesterday, so Lizze and I could get away and get Fit4Autism.  :-) That was honestly a victory, in and of itself.  However, the main reason I'm celebrating is because the boys actually got along and even built this little town out of blocks.  They worked together and had a great time.  Anytime there's no bloodshed, that is a victory as far as I'm concerned.  :-)…