Read more about the article Gavin is so gullible and that scares me
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

Gavin is so gullible and that scares me

I've talked about this before but it's been many years since I've brought this up. Gavin is incredibly gullible and as a parent, that scares the crap out of me. I was reminded of this today. We went to a Harry Potter thing at our local library yesterday. I didn't particularly enjoy it but Lizze and the boys did. I always say that it's not so much what I'm doing but who I'm doing it with. I love spending time with my family and this was a chance to do just that. ☺ 💙 When the kids walked in, they were lined up and the sorting hat put them in their houses, just like in the books/movies. This was an actual hat that actually sorta moved around and would speak…

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August 5, 2018
Read more about the article #Autism further complicates an already unpleasant situation
Akron Children's Hospital / Autism Parenting Struggles / Featured / Gastroenterology / Gavin / My thoughts / Surgery / Vivint Gives Back

#Autism further complicates an already unpleasant situation

This is going to be a fricking nightmare. It already is. Gavin has begun the pre-op cleanse if you will. If that wasn't bad enough, he's not allowed to eat anything for at least the next 28 hours. For most people, a 28 hour fast would be very difficult. Gavin however, isn't most people. His life revolves around two things, his tablet and food. Food is such a huge thing for him and he becomes very unpleasant to be around when any of his meals are perceived to be late. To say that Gavin is food motivated would be an enormous understatement. He already ate breakfast before we could get to him this morning but the hospital said it was okay, as long as he eats nothing else. To make…

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June 4, 2018
Read more about the article Even if we had the power, would it give us the right?
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

Even if we had the power, would it give us the right?

We have a conundrum and aren't sure what the right thing to do is. In less than 24 hours, we return to Akron Children's Hospital for pre-testing and consultation in regards to Gavin's endoscopy and colonoscopy, which is a bit more complicated because of Gavin's health issues. At this point in time, Gavin either doesn't know or doesn't remember that he's having these done in June 5th. When we arrive at Akron Children's Hospital tomorrow for the meeting, we're going to be going over in great detail, all that's going to transpire. Our concern is that Gavin is going to freak out. For an average person, these things can be scary but for an 18 year old with the mind of a 6 year old, it could end up being…

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May 30, 2018
Read more about the article At least his arm isn’t broken
Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / My thoughts

At least his arm isn’t broken

One of the joys of Autism Parenting is trying to figure out when something is wrong with your kid on the Spectrum. Communication issues abound and it can make things more challenging. I had to take Emmett into urgent care for x-rays this evening. About a week ago, Emmett fell at school and scraped his knees. We knew about that but he never told us he hurt his right arm as well. I only learned about his arm a couple of days ago. Emmett has major Sensory Processing challenges and it impacts many areas of his life, his interpretation of pain happens to be one of them. He's been in pain for over a week now but never told us or even showed any signs of being in pain. When…

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May 28, 2018
Read more about the article I desperately need a break from his school related anxieties
Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / My thoughts

I desperately need a break from his school related anxieties

This is a interesting story that involves Emmett, his teachers and a six month old homework packet. The other day, one of Emmett's teachers approached me right before school let out because she wanted to give me a heads up in regards to a conversation she'd had with Emmett that day. She knows how Emmett struggles with communicating in certain situations and wanted me to know first hand, what happened so Lizze and I could reassure him if need be. Back in January of this year, Emmett missed a bunch of school do to illness. There was a ton of makeup work and somehow, one of his packets never got turned in. All she did was ask him if he knew where it was and he told her it was…

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May 23, 2018
Read more about the article Why his lack of awareness creates problems
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

Why his lack of awareness creates problems

Gavin is struggling a bit more than usual today. He's never really been acutely aware of what's going on around him but he's absolutely oblivious right now. I don't know that there's anything going on today that's really out of the ordinary. There's nothing external to Gavin that seems to be causing him any distress or anything like that. It's important to understand that Gavin's not even aware that he's doing anything problematic because he's not doing any of this on purpose. He's just being himself and going right along with his day. The problem that his lack of awareness means we have to be ever vigilant. I was boiling water on the stove this afternoon and had to make sure that Gavin didn't touch or bump into the pot…

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May 21, 2018
Read more about the article Hope isn’t always easy to maintain but giving up isn’t an option
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

Hope isn’t always easy to maintain but giving up isn’t an option

Life can be frustrating when you're an Autism parent because Autism has a way of impacting so many facets in life. I can't think of a single area in my life that Autism has made more complicated. The primary source of frustration as of late is generally in regards to Gavin. Gavin is such a sweet kid and I don't know anyone alive who tries harder than he does. The problem is the amount of effort that must go into micromanaging his life. I hate micromanaging anything, especially when it comes to people because it feels oppressive and controlling. Unfortunately, because Gavin lacks the capacity to make a great many decisions about his daily life, it falls on us to do that for him. Gavin has always lacked what's known…

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May 16, 2018
Read more about the article Micromanaging #Autism: Dealing with feeding problems
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts / YouTube Video

Micromanaging #Autism: Dealing with feeding problems

I wanted to take a minute and drop this video here, as well as pick your brain. Feeding problems can be quite common in kids with Autism, for a number of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not something that is always outgrown, as evidenced by the fact that after 18 years, it's still a problem. I'd love to hear your experience and find out how you've addressed feeding problems in your family. https://youtu.be/nJUhA5_aPJM

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May 14, 2018