Read more about the article The kids discovered our shameful, dirty little secret
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

The kids discovered our shameful, dirty little secret

You may recall that I had to get Lizze to the Cleveland Clinic very early today, and because of that, the kids spent the night with their grandparents. I also previously mentioned that Lizze and I were going to have an official date night last night, something we rarely get to do. We sometimes grab takeout and watch movies at home but we almost never go on official dates and that sucks. For us, an official date is something like going to dinner and a movie. It just doesn't happen very often. In fact, I think last night was the first time this entire year that we were able to do something like this. While we were debating what movie to see, it came down between The Lion King and…

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July 30, 2019
Read more about the article Being an #Autism parent has been exceptionally challenging for me today
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

Being an #Autism parent has been exceptionally challenging for me today

It's been a long day. It's been a very, very long day and my anxiety is through the roof. Between Emmett and his fricking pick eye and Gavin with his incessant talking, and psychosis, I'm frazzled. Emmett has had two rounds of eye drops and should be able to return to school on Wednesday. He's tolerating the drops, but he's not happy because they burn a little bit. That said, he's doing a good job thus far making me both grateful and proud. A large part of my current stress and anxiety centers around Gavin. He's not doing anything wrong, and the challenges we face in coexisting with him are not his fault. Nevertheless, he's exhausting, and his constant talking is extremely frustrating. I'm struggling today, and I haven't been…

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April 23, 2019
Read more about the article I try so hard not to get angry but his behaviors can make that more difficult
Autism Parenting Confessions / Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

I try so hard not to get angry but his behaviors can make that more difficult

I'm not having the best day. My anxiety is through the roof and I'm internally freaking out. I don't really have a specific reason why but it's making me more easily frustrated and/or overwhelmed. Unfortunately, that weakness is making some things harder for me to cope with right now, especially in regards to Gavin's behaviors. He's asking the same question, over and over. This is just one example of this. Since I told him on Friday that his infusion meds were on backorder, he keeps asking me where they are. Every time I tell him that they are on backorder, he's says oh, okay. Ten minutes later, he's asks me the same question again. It's insanely frustrating but I honestly don't think he remember ever asking the question before. I…

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November 5, 2018
Read more about the article It really sucks when you have to put groceries back because you don’t have enough money
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

It really sucks when you have to put groceries back because you don’t have enough money

It's been a rough day in general. The highlight has been my 3.1 mile walk. I've walked every single day for the last 2 months and I'd like to maintain that record as much as I can. Anyway, that was the upside. The rest of the day has been a bit on the unpleasant side. Gavin's driving me nuts with his talking, while Elliott and Emmett are fighting over everything. I'm overwhelmed by life right now and it all sorta came to a head this afternoon while I was running errands. After walking, I had to hit the grocery store, gas station and Little Ceasars. Elliott needed pizza for his school lunches because it's the only thing he will eat. We need gas to get the kids to school in…

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October 21, 2018
Read more about the article This #Autism Dad is not coping well with the incessant talking today
Autism Parenting Confessions / Gavin / My thoughts

This #Autism Dad is not coping well with the incessant talking today

There are so many things that can be frustrating and/or overwhelming when it comes to being an Autism/Special Needs Parent. Most of them are things that I've had to learn to either ignore or cope with in some other way. If I didn't, I'd lose my mind. I have days where I can cope fairly well but there are also days that I seriously struggle. On any given day, one of the hardest things for me to cope with is incessant talking. I'm fully aware that many parents have never heard their child talk and I have some experience in that arena with Emmett. My heart goes out to them. I'm not intending to be insensitive to that and I'm incredibly grateful that my kids are verbal. The reality I…

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October 21, 2018
Read more about the article It was more than I could cope with and I knew it would be that way going into it
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

It was more than I could cope with and I knew it would be that way going into it

Let me tell you something. Today has been one of the most stressful days I can remember. I spent the last few hours talking/venting to Lizze about everything weighing me down. It was my Dad's surprise 65th birthday. My Mom arranged for a family dinner at PF Changs. This is a pretty nice restaurant and it's about a 35 minute drive from our house. Not a huge deal. Lizze was not well today, so I flew solo with the boys and that proved to be a little much for me personally. Elliott was struggling with impulsivity, a lack of a brain/mouth filter and the long wait to eat. While it drove me bonkers, he wasn't really doing anything wrong. I was just not coping very well. Gavin did pretty well…

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October 8, 2018
Read more about the article As a general rule, I don’t apologize for any of my kids with #Autism but this is one exception
Akron Children's Hospital / Autism Parenting Confessions / Autism Parenting Insight / Gavin / Hematology / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

As a general rule, I don’t apologize for any of my kids with #Autism but this is one exception

I mentioned in a previous post that something happened yesterday while at Gavin's hematology appointment. Akron Children's Hospital was great, they always are. You have to understand something before we go any further. This appointment took place where Gavin used to receive his IVIG infusions. We're very familiar with this place after years of visits. Gavin is a sweet kids and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He would never intentionally try to hurt someone or say something that caused someone pain. Unfortunately, along with missing mean bones, he's also missing a filter. It's not uncommon for kids on the Autism spectrum to lack a verbal filter. They basically say it how it is, and are unburdened by things like inhibition. Typically, kids with Autism don't lie. They…

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September 8, 2018
Read more about the article My kids need to go back to school
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

My kids need to go back to school

It's been a massively stressful day because our three day weekend evolved into a five day weekend and it's been tough for everyone. Kids with Autism tend to struggle with change to routine and my kids are no exception. They were still adjusting to the new school year and haven't even been back for two weeks and now they've been off for almost a full school weeks worth of days already. This is not conducive to adapting to the new school schedule. I think we all need to get this new routine down because it provides structure that's very difficult to put into play otherwise. Today has been full of meltdowns, fighting and stress. The boys have been at each other's throats and I've just about lost my mind. As…

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September 6, 2018