Read more about the article UPDATE: A little bit about the neuropsychological testing and how things are going so far
Autism Parenting Struggles / Cleveland Clinic / Gavin / My thoughts / Psychiatry

UPDATE: A little bit about the neuropsychological testing and how things are going so far

I don't know if you're familiar with neuropsych testing, but here it is in a nutshell. According to my friends at the Cleveland Clinic, "a neuropsychological evaluation is a test to measure how well a person's brain is working. The abilities tested include reading, speaking, understanding, paying attention, and remembering." We've been here for about four hours so far, and I filled out paperwork when we first got here. Then there was a lengthy interview process with tons of more targeted questions. Gavin isn't able to really answer the kinds of questions being asked, but he was able to rattle off needed dates for a few things like it was nobody's business . 👍 Gavin was very preoccupied with having not eaten lunch, and the doctor said I could bring…

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June 11, 2019
Read more about the article It’s going to be an incredibly long day and I’m already exhausted
Autism Parenting Struggles / Cleveland Clinic / Gavin / My thoughts / Psychiatry

It’s going to be an incredibly long day and I’m already exhausted

I'm feeling incredibly overwhelmed right now. We made it to the Cleveland Clinic without any problems other than a minor detour. Gavin is checked in, and we're waiting our turn. The paperwork was a bit overwhelming because of Gavin's history being so extensive. It's a lot of information to squeeze into a tiny space, and I eventually gave up. They're going to go over everything again in our initial interview this afternoon anyway, so we'll clean that up then if need be. Gavin's in a really good mood, and he remembers being here previously. He also remembers how badly it went the last time. He feels that he's older now and should be able to handle these questions without much of a problem. I think that's a great attitude and…

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June 11, 2019
Read more about the article It’s total chaos this morning
Autism Parenting Struggles / Cleveland Clinic / Gavin / My thoughts / Psychiatry

It’s total chaos this morning

Today has turned into chaos. I had everything planned out, and we were going to be dropping the boys off at Lizze's parents before high tailing it to the Cleveland Clinic for Gavin's long afternoon of testing. Unfortunately, Lizze woke up super early this morning and was in excruciating pain. Nothing is helping, and she's in so much pain, that she's sick to her stomach. There's no way she can make the trip. We're running behind, the house has erupted into chaos, and I'm stressing out cause I hate doing these things alone. I'm very capable, but I don't like doing them alone. Lizze always has great insight, and with both of us there, we have the bases covered. I'm not mad at all. I'm just not excited about the…

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June 11, 2019
Read more about the article Teenagers are tough, but teenagers with #Autism can be even tougher
Autism Parenting Struggles / Link / My thoughts

Teenagers are tough, but teenagers with #Autism can be even tougher

My wife and I have about 20 years of Autism parenting experience. Gavin's going to be 20 years old in January, but our journey with him was anything but typical, even for an Autistic kid. The reason I say that is because now that Elliott is a teenager and Emmett's not too far behind, we're finding it a completely different experience than we had with Gavin. In many ways, it's very much like we're going through all of this for the first time because our frame of reference with Gavin not proving to be helpful. Gavin functions at a much lower capacity than the boys, and that presented us with a unique set of challenges. Elliott and Emmett are very high functioning but struggle in many ways that Gavin didn't.…

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June 3, 2019
Read more about the article One of my #Autistic kids took off running while we were out
Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

One of my #Autistic kids took off running while we were out

The first day of summer break proved to be a mixed bag. We went to our movie and then I needed to go grocery shopping. I had to go to two different stores and spent entirely too much, but it was desperately needed. Everyone was pretty overstimulated after the movie. Godzilla: King of Monsters was absolutely amazing, but it was not sensory friendly. Lizze was probably impacted the most, but Elliott and Emmett weren't too far behind. As the day wore on, things got to be a little chaotic, and I thought that getting them some exercise would be helpful. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned. Elliott and Emmett got into it while we were walking and Elliott ended up taking off. He was out of sight at times, and…

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June 1, 2019
Read more about the article I’m worried about my oldest
Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

I’m worried about my oldest

Gavin's having a rough day. He's spent almost the entire day in his room running intense missions. The reason I bring this up is because while Gavin's schizophrenic, he's also Autistic and is very much a creator of habit. He has very specific routines that he follows and if they get disrupted, he is not a happy camper. Routine disruption can be challenging for people with Autism, and Gavin is not exception. So far today, Gavin has ignored most of his routine in lieu of managing a crisis in the Universe he's transported to when he walks through his bedroom door. He's very much on edge and not wanting to tell us anything about it. I'm a little worried because, on any other day, we literally can't get him to…

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May 25, 2019
Read more about the article I get demoralized at times and wish I could do better
Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

I get demoralized at times and wish I could do better

Do you ever have those days where you can't shake a bad mood? I'm totally having one of those days right now. I'm not angry or anything like that. I do, however, feel frustrated for a number of reasons and overwhelmed by a great many things in my life. All I want to do is focus I on improving our quality of life, even a tiny amount. School let's out in five days, and we have a long summer ahead of us. There's a zero percent chance of us being able to afford going on any type of vacation, but we're going to try to get in as many day trips as we can. Even that's likely to be a struggle, but it's important that we give the kids the…

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May 22, 2019
Read more about the article Today just keeps on giving
Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

Today just keeps on giving

It's been another long night, and I'm just now getting around to writing anything. Mr. Emmett is all sorts of miserable because of his current fever flare, resulting in painful mouth sores, and is not very pleasant to be around at the moment. I can't really blame him. He's in a shitload of pain. This will be day two of the increased dose of his anti-virals, and we're hoping this helps to provide him with relief as soon as possible. Lizze's had a doctors appointment this morning, and as a result, I was not able to go walking until after lunch. Gavin's been keeping to himself for most of the day, and the times I have seen him, he's barking orders for things he wants me to get the next…

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May 21, 2019