There are a million and one things that could easily be considered one of the toughest parts about Autism Parenting. Occasionally, one of these toughest parts makes its way to the front of the line and weighs heavy. This is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night because it's too abstract to really process and completely intangible. I thought I would share what I'm currently struggling with because I want something positive to come from my journey. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you can't. My hope is that if you can, you realize that you aren't alone. As a parent to three boys with Autism, I'm my own toughest critic. I hear people's thoughts and/or opinions of my abilities as a parent all the time. Some people…

I'm not sure I go a day without mentioning the word exhaustion, somewhere in this blog. The reason for that is because exhaustion plays an enormous role in my life.  One of the reasons I talk about it so much is because it's one of the many things that people don't quite understand when it comes to Autism parenting. The level of exhaustion I feel right now is rather extreme.  It always feels like I'm chasing sleep for one reason or another.  Sometimes I'm too stressed out to sleep. Other times, I'm dealing with one or more of my kids being unable to sleep. There are even times when I'm simply too tired to fall asleep. I know how that sounds but it's what happens.  Most Autism parents probably couldn't…

I took the boys to the indoor playground. Unfortunately, there were a ton of little kids, and I wasn't comfortable letting Gavin use the equipment.  Maybe that wasn't the right decision, but I had to do what I thought was best for all involved.  Gavin was fine with it, and he just hung out with me.  It's hard because Gavin's so much younger on the inside than he is on the outside. When parents have their little kids playing on this playground, they can be uncomfortable with an almost 18 year old, with facial hair, playing good with their kids.  I totally get it. It's just one of those things that I have to manage as an Autism parent.  Regardless, everyone had fun, and we were able to get out…

I guess today was the first official day of summer vacation. It was a relatively uneventful day, as far as Autism parenting goes. I can actually put a check in the win column for this one.  Gavin had his IVIG infusion this morning, and it went really well. He spent the infusion in his room watching Netflix, but there wasn't anything that had him freaking out. ☺  He did spend a large portion of the day sleeping, after his infusion completed.  Elliott was feeling much better today and that's always a good thing. I hate when my kids are sick. Both he and Emmett had their ups and downs today, but in general, they got along.  As the afternoon began to cool off a little bit, I tackled the yard.…