Read more about the article I almost had to kick in my son’s bedroom door tonight
Autism Parenting Struggles / Emmett John / My thoughts

I almost had to kick in my son’s bedroom door tonight

We had an incident tonight that sorta derailed our evening. I had assigned everyone a chore to do after we got home from dinner. They were all simple things like feeding the dog and changing the trash. I asked Emmett to split up the new bottle of hand sanitizer between the bathroom and the kitchen. We buy a large bottle and use that to refill the two smaller bottles we have in the house. Anyway, Emmett ended having a rough time for some reason. He had spilled some on the front of the new bottle, and because there's alcohol in it, the ink on the label bled. He was doing this in the bathtub for some reason, and the ink left blue marks all over the bottom of the tub.…

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April 30, 2019
Read more about the article Just added a 3rd doctors appointment this week
Akron Children's Hospital / Emmett John / My thoughts / Pediatrics

Just added a 3rd doctors appointment this week

We already have two out of town doctors appointments this week. The first is for Elliott, and it's in Akron, and the second is in Cleveland for Mr. Gavin. This translates to a shitload of driving that will far exceed the actual time spent in each appointment. Now we're adding a third appointment. This one is for Emmett and is in regards to his leg pain. It sounds like it could be growing pains, but with all the crazy things we have going on, we'd feel better having him checked out. I'm a little concerned because he says it's his bones that hurt and that it's not muscle pain. Either way, he's struggling, and if there's something we can do to help him, we want to know what that something…

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April 29, 2019
Read more about the article It’s unbelievable what sometimes goes into getting my kids to school in the morning
Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / My thoughts

It’s unbelievable what sometimes goes into getting my kids to school in the morning

It's already been an eventful morning, after a long night. When we last spoke, it was about 1 AM, and the boys were unable to sleep. Elliott fell asleep shortly after that but Emmett could not. His legs were hurting him too much, and he ended up sleeping in between Lizze and I. I don't know if he just needed the comfort, but he did fall asleep. Emmett was very concerned about going to school today because of his legs. He has to do multiple flights of stairs, numerous times a day. He also has martial arts as well. The poor kid is having to rough go at it, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to do these things because they would hurt too much. I walked…

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April 29, 2019
Read more about the article Poor Emmett is absolutely miserable
Emmett John / My thoughts

Poor Emmett is absolutely miserable

It was a long night. Emmett slept until 2 AM before waking up in a panic because his eye was glued shut. I applied warm compresses until I was able to pry his eyelids apart. I'm not gonna lie; it was gross. The good news was that my eyes opened without any issue, which likely means I've escaped pink eye thus far. I managed to get Emmett back to sleep, but he woke again a couple of hours later. This time, both eyes were stuck shut. That's right, he now has pink eye in both eyes and is twice as miserable. I was unable to get him back to sleep that time. As I said, it's been a long night. The good news is that Elliott woke up pink eye…

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April 22, 2019
Read more about the article Phone calls from the school during the school day are never good
Autism Parenting Insight / Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts

Phone calls from the school during the school day are never good

Just when I thought things were finally settling down and we could catch our breath from all the Gavin drama this morning, Lizze gets a phone call. Elliott is in the school office with a fever and needs to come home. I had to drop what I was doing to retrieve him from the office and bring him home. Of course, I would drop everything to retrieve one of my kids, what parent wouldn't? Elliott isn't feeling well, but I'm glad that we were able to make him more comfortable. I'm currently waiting for Emmett to come out of the school and he's going to be a bit flustered because he doesn't like surprises. This will probably throw him off and make waves in his world for a little while.…

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April 15, 2019
Read more about the article We came we saw we struggled, but we survived
Allergy/Immunology / Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / University Hospital

We came we saw we struggled, but we survived

The appointments went pretty well. Everyone is doing okay, and Elliott was even able to avoid bloodwork. Emmett, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He needed bloodwork and ended up having to sit in line for over an hour to get it done. He was not happy about this, and I took the other kids out to the car, while Lizze waited for him to be called back. Once he was called back, he did great. It was just the anxiety created by the wait, that was causing him the most distress. We just arrived home, and he's doing much better. The rest of the day will likely be a mixed bag because he's most certainly overstimulated from this mornings events. I will not be surprised in the…

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April 8, 2019
Read more about the article It’s a very stressful morning
Allergy/Immunology / Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / University Hospital

It’s a very stressful morning

It's not been a super fun morning. I had assumed that Elliott would be struggling this morning, but it ended up being Emmett who was struggling. When Emmett gets stressed out, he struggles even more with sensory related issues. This morning it was socks. He couldn't find a pair of socks that he felt comfortable wearing. It led to a pretty disruptive meltdown and a significant delay in our departure time. To his credit, he did work through it and is feeling a bit better right now. We were lucky not to have any significant traffic issues. We left about 7:45 AM and our appointment is at 9 AM. It takes one hour and fifteen minutes to get there on a good day. We made it at 8:55 AM. 😀…

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April 8, 2019
Read more about the article When your kid with #Autism is distressed
Autism Parenting Insight / Emmett John / My thoughts

When your kid with #Autism is distressed

I had a hard time falling asleep last night. It had been an exhausting and emotional day. When you're an Autism or Special Needs parent, and your kids are experiencing distress, it has a significant impact on everyone in the house. Lizze and I were both stressed out and drained last night. Neither one of us fell asleep quickly. I remember seeing 2 AM on my nightstand's Google Hub. I was up at 7 AM and feeling pretty good. I hit the track and got my 3 miles in before 9 AM. That's a great start to the day. 😀 Emmett didn't sleep well and was up long before we were. I got home from walking, and he's already struggling a little bit. I'm hoping that he will feel better…

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April 7, 2019