This post is dedicated to all those special needs families out there doing the very best they can in a challenging situation. This post is meant to help educate those who are quick to judge. I want to provide an example of the kind of things that frequently occur to the Lost and Tired family.  These occurrences often, completely disrupt our lives and force us to re-prioritize..  As a result,  many things happen that otherwise wouldn't. Chores don't get done and bills don't get paid -just as an example-. I feel it's important that this is understood because there are so many families out there that go through a very similar thing.  The absolute worst feeling is when you know that you are doing everything possible and it's not enough.…

I'm really tired but I wanted together you all know what happened.  The quick and dirty version is that Gavin is home again.  They had no beds available and our only option would be a treatment facility that was about 90 minutes away. We opted to forgo that for several reasons.  One being we physically, couldn't afford the trip but the other being it would be pointless to send him at this point.  I'll have a big write up in the morning,  I promise but for now I need sleep.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers :-) **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Community Autism Support Forum Posted from WordPress for Android so please forgive any typos as auto-correct and I don't see…

Please be aware that we are in the midst of handling a behavioral crisis with Gavin. We are in the process getting Gavin a psychiatric evaluation at Akron Children's Hospital. He may actually be admitted to the psychiatric unit once again. There is a great deal of time spent just waiting right now so I want to document the process so that you can experience some of what we are going through right now. This is not easy and I hate having to make these types of decisions but it's part of being a special needs parent. We had a very difficult decision to make this afternoon. Gavin has experienced a significant personality shift in the last month or so. We have been seeing a significant increase in the number…

I'll explain more when I can but Gavin is going to the ER at Akron Children's Hospital.  He may be admitted to the psychiatric unit.  Basically, the level of self injury has reached a point,  that something needs to be done.  Something is wrong and we need to figure out if it's strictly behavioral or if something else is causing this...  We could use your thoughts and prayers as this is going to be a very difficult evening. **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Community Autism Support Forum Posted from WordPress for Android

Emmett appears to be coming into another fever flare.  He's super grouchy and ended up missing speech therapy due to this friggin PFAPA.  Despite him being miserable and grouchy,  I'm wanted to share some positive moments I have with Mr.  Emmett John today. As challenging as things are for the Lost and Tired family,  I try my best to find the positive in each day and share it with you all by showing you The Lighter Side of #Autism.   Enjoy... [/caption] [/caption] **Thanks for reading**        -Lost and Tired Please join our Community Autism Support Forum Posted from WordPress for Android

While I was out walking yesterday,  something occurred to me.  There is something to be said about the difficulties of making eye contact,  even for the neurotypical person. For whatever reason,  I never made the connection until yesterday,  but it's really not that easy to make eye contact,  especially with strangers. I know that as a parent to three boys on the spectrum,  I always encourage my boys to look me in the eyes when talking to me.  I only encourage but never require.  I also know that there seems to be a push to make people with Autism make eye contact.  Making eye contact is an important part of the diagnostic process as well.  However,  I have to say again, from a neurotypical perspective,  eye contact isn't as easy…

The next three days are going to be crazy.  Beginning in a few hours,  both Emmett and Elliott will be at Speech and OT.  Well actually,  Emmett will be at speech and Elliott will finally have his OT evaluation. This has been a long time coming and all I can say is,  thank God it's here,  because he friggin' needs it. Elliott has a difficult time writing or coloring for any extended amount of time because his hands will hurt. Hopefully,  if OT and PT can both kick in,  he will be able to get the help he needs to strengthen his body to help compensate for his extremely low muscle tone and loose joints. Tomorrow afternoon will bring with it the beginning of Elliott's 24 hour EEG at Akron…

It's been a little while since I updated everyone on how Elliott has been doing on Risperdal.  For those of you just tuning in,  Elliott is my 6 year old with Asperger's and extreme anxiety.  His anxiety had become crippling for him and we need to do something.  We initially tried Zoloft and that was a complete disaster.  After a few weeks of letting the Zoloft clear his system,  we began low dose Risperdal.  The Risperdal has been working pretty well.  We did have to bump him up from the initial dose of .5mg BID to 1mg BID.  He's handled the medication very well and his anxiety has been significantly reduced.  Unfortunately,  he seems to be experiencing more anxiety lately. However,  at this point,  his quality of life has improved…