I want to do a little exercise with all of you today.  As a parent to a special needs child, it's really, really easy to feel like a bad parent at times. Whether it's the world making assumptions or you being too hard on yourself, it's easy to feel bad. Trust me, I understand completely what that's like.  This exercise is really simple and I'll go first. Here's what you do. Simply fill in the blanks.  Follow my example below and add your to the comments below. I'm a good parent because I love my kids and while I make mistakes, I learn from them and never give up. This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-) Follow @Lost_and_Tired Visit…

Autism affects more than 1 million children and adults in the United States, and parents may be confused by the behavior of autistic children. This book provides help-and hope-by explaining the differences between various types of autism and delivering…

I thought I would open up the floor and offer to answer any questions that you might have about our recent experience of being investigated by Child Protective Services. We have nothing to hide, so feel free to ask your questions.  I'll do my best to answer anything I can.  This was a learning g experience for us and I'm happy to share what we've learned.  This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-) Follow @Lost_and_Tired Visit the My Autism Help Forums To reach me via email, please Contact Me

Sunday was one of those rare days that I got a ton of shit done.  Yes, I said shit. Sometimes I cuss, what can I say. Anyway, Lizze was down almost the entire day.  She's was in too much pain to even walk without the use of her cane.  Despite all the obstacles of the day, I managed to weedeat the yard and cut the grass. Lizze was watching the boys while I was outside, in case anyone was wondering.  I also did 6 loads of laundry.  I washed, dried, folded and sorted everything.  All of the laundry baskets that had clothes waiting to be folded got done as well, on top of the 6 other loads. Gavin put all his clothes away and everyone els  has their own basket. …

For some reason I can't explain, I feel a renewed sense of hope.  Hope is something that doesn't always make an appearance in our lives.  It seems like more often than not, despair is the word of the day.  I can't explain it but for some reason despair has been replaced with hope. This sorta happened towards the end of the day. Out of nowhere, I just felt like everything is going to be okay.  How long will this feeling last? I have no clue. Being that we are working our way towards Monday morning, I wouldn't be too surprised if that takes its toll.  Having said that, I'm more than grateful to be able to lay my head down tonight with a sense of peace. Whenever hope comes for…

I want to recognize both Emmett and Gavin today because of how well they got along this morning.  Gavin was patient with Emmett and Emmett was patient with Gavin.  It's not that they don't ever get along.  Typically, Gavin tends to sorta hoard more of whatever they happen to be playing.  He usually controls enough of what's going on so that he never loses.  This has been a long standing issue and something that really upsets the boys.  Having said that, Gavin did really well this morning.  He didn't take everything over or try to control the outcome.  Great job Gavin.  Great job Emmett.  :-) This site is managed almost exclusively via WordPress for Android. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-) Follow @Lost_and_Tired Visit the My Autism Help…

First off, let me say this.  There are some people out there convinced that all I do is bash Gavin because I don't love him. The truth is quite the contrary.  I love Gavin very, very much.  Having said that, Gavin is very, very, very, very challenging.  When I talk about the things we are dealing with, in regards to Gavin, I'm not bashing him. While I might be frustrated and overwhelmed by his behavior, I'm simply sharing my experience. I know that there are at least some of you out there that can relate. My belief is that sharing the struggles helps me to better cope and has nothing to do with loving or not loving one of my kids.  If fact, I would argue that it proves my…

Today's question revolves around whether or not common sense is necessary for independence. I think we all hope that our kids will be independent some day.  I also suspect that many of us are concerned about whether or not that will actually happen or if it's even possible. I'm sharing one of my biggest concerns about this in respect to Gavin.  I want to open this up for discussion so we can share our thoughts and opinions.  Gavin is gifted in quite a few areas. He's very intelligent and extremely creative.  His friends at school call him The Math Wiz because he's so good with numbers.  However, when it comes to common sense, Gavin is sorely lacking.  To be more accurate, Gavin has absolutely no common sense. We see examples…