Today I took my 4 years old with autism,  Emmett, out to lunch.  There's a really cheap Chinese place around the corner and they have a lunch buffet. One of Emmett’s most favorite things in the word is Chinese food and he's been asking to go at least once a day for awhile now.  I finally got paid today and so I thought I would surprise him with a trip to the Chinese buffet. He was so excited and kept asking when it would be time to go.  :-) I really think it's important for me to spend as much time with him as I can. He's going through a time in his young life that he really needs some guy time. Emmett and I are pretty much with each…

I would never presume to know what's best for your kids. However, I will share what I do with mine and you can decide if it will work for your family.  :-) One of my goals with my 3 autistic children is help them become as independent as possible.  I want them to be happy,  in whatever form that takes. I began working with them at a very early age.  Some of the things I really like to focus on are everyday, life skills. The way I see it, the more they practice the more experience they will have. I try to let them help me as much as I can.  Kids are naturally curious and mine are no exception.  I use their natural curiosity and allow that to help them…

If I had any hair left, I would be pulling it all out.  This whole commenting fiasco just never quits.  I had moved back to intense debate because LiveFyre was having problems.  Well, intense debate is having problems as well.  Comments aren't showing up.  If and when they do, it's multiple times.  Other times comments are disappearing.  Listening to your feedback is so important to both me and #Autism Awareness in general.  I'm working group hard to provide a reliable commenting system.  I have decided to make the move back to Livefyre because I really do feel it's the best system available.  The issues I was having,  I believe have been resolved.  If you experience any issues with leaving a comment, please let me know via email. Also, if you…

As Lost and Tired becomes more and more popular both inside and outside of the community, I am sometimes asked to support a non-profit #Autism Organization. To be completely honest, I almost never align myself with any organization. It's not because I'm a loner or don't play well with others.  It's because I have yet to really find an organization that I have personal knowledge of that actually makes a difference in the day to day lives of autistic persons and/or their families.  This has been sort of a pet peeve of mine for awhile.  I'm certainly not saying that these #Autism organizations don't help the cause.  It just seems like sometimes they become too big for their own good. When this happens, it feels like to me, their message…

Today is Gavin's first IVIG infusion of 2013. This makes 2 years of successful treatment for his primary immunodeficiency.  When I say successful, I mean hasn't gotten much worse. He hasn't gotten seriously I'll and his dosage has only needed to be increased once. He will need these infusions for the rest of his life but he does really well and never complains about the 4+ hour procedure.  It's amazing how fast time has gone by. It feels like we just got blindsided by the diagnosis yesterday.  I remember getting the phone call letting us know that he had a severely compromised immune system. We were totally shocked because in all his 11 years, no one had ever picked up on this. It was the gastro doing a followup blood…

All three of my boys love playing video games. Recently, Emmett has really gotten into playing the Xbox 360. We're pretty selective about what we allow him to actually play. One of his favorite games is Viva Piñata. Talk about exploring the far reaches of his imagination. He's able to create these beautiful gardens and attract and subsequently care for these colorful piñata type creatures. It's an older game but most definitely a good one, especially for kids.  It's really cool to watch him create and care for these virtual gardens and treat them as though they were real. Is there a particular game that your kids really love to play? This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any…