Read more about the article It’s a Bad News/Good News thing
Emmett John / Gavin / My thoughts

It’s a Bad News/Good News thing

We've made it to Wednesday and while I'm struggling to establish a new routine, we're hanging in there. One of the challenges with starting a new routine at the moment is that no one is sleeping well, except for Gavin. I'm struggling to fall asleep and so are Elliott and Emmett. Everyone is dealing with a great deal right now and it's sorta turned their lives upside down. The boys were still struggling to get their feet underneath them after Lizze left and we were plunged into the COVID19 nightmare. It's safe to say their snow globes have been shaken so much, the can't even see where they're going. I'm just trying to hold everything together as well and feel like I'm failing, miserably. Poor Emmett is so stressed out…

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March 25, 2020
Read more about the article I just want him to be a kid
Emmett John / My thoughts

I just want him to be a kid

I thought I would share this because it's both funny and a bit reassuring for me personally. So Emmett has completely taken over the dining room with a giant blanket fort and refuses to let me take it down. I know I could do it anyway but he's not hurting anything and it's something that helps him feel a bit more in control. Obviously, it can't stay there forever but I think I'll let him be a kid for a good long while. He's dealing with so many grown-up issues right now and I hate that he's growing up so fast. Is it really a crime if I encourage him to just be a kid right now?

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March 5, 2020
Read more about the article He totally f*cking did it and I couldn’t be prouder
Emmett John / My thoughts

He totally f*cking did it and I couldn’t be prouder

I'm so excited and proud beyond all words to be able to share with you that Emmett returned to school for the entire day today. He walked out of the building with a smile on his face and seems to be in a good place. I'm so proud of him because I know how much he's struggling and yet he's persevering. There have been a few people that have questioned my approach to Emmett's struggle with school but the reality is, pushing him to return before he was ready, would have only made everything worse. Has he missed school? Of course he has. It was covered under a medical excuse and what matters more than anything else is that he's back. It took some time but my hope is that…

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February 24, 2020
Read more about the article Sometimes school just isn’t as important
Emmett John / My thoughts / School Related Issues

Sometimes school just isn’t as important

It's a very big day for us in The Autism Dad household. Emmett is returning to school for the full day, starting today. At least that's the plan. I need to sit down and have a meeting with school because Emmett is barely hanging on and while he's returning full time, it's not going to take much to derail that. Emmett's been in a very, very dark place and because of that, school has become incidental. He's absolutely buried in makeup work and he feels his teachers are disappointed in him. I spoke with his therapist and I think the best approach for him to get back into the classroom full time is to forget the makeup work. Emmett has been an overachiever his entire life and received straight A's…

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February 24, 2020
Read more about the article Emmett kicked ass today
Emmett John / My thoughts

Emmett kicked ass today

I'm really excited to share that we've made more progress in Emmett's journey back to school. This morning was the boys first day back to school since our trip. I want sure how this was going to go for Emmett but he kicked ass. Emmett stayed at school until noon today which is the longest he's made it since before Christmas. On Monday, the plan is to return to full days again. This has been a very long, very challenging process but he's making progress and I couldn't be prouder. With any luck, we'll be able to put this all behind us very soon.

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February 21, 2020
Read more about the article This is a really big day for my youngest
Emmett John / My thoughts

This is a really big day for my youngest

This is a big week for us. Emmett is slated to return to school for 3 hours a day. He's nervous but he's also excited at the same time. We've been talking about it this weekend and he seems resolved to make this happen. I'm praying it goes well with because he has needs to get back to school full time ASAP. Unfortunately, I need to be in 2 places at once on Monday monring. I have to have Gavin in Cleveland to see his immunologist first thing in the morning and I won't be here to pick Emmett from school at 11 AM. My parents are unavailable this week and so I had to make arrangements for Emmett's mom and grandmother to pick him up. I'm really grateful for…

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February 9, 2020
Read more about the article One of the challenges I face as an #Autism Dad
Akron Children's Hospital / Emmett John / My thoughts / Optometry

One of the challenges I face as an #Autism Dad

I'm so fucking tired and I'm going to make this quick. Emmett's eye appointment went well. He needs new glasses, which have already been ordered. The spots in his vision don't seem to have a physical cause and at this point, are not something to worry about. We do need to keep an eye on them going forward. One of the difficult parts of raising a child with Autism is communication, at least in my family. My kids are brilliant and most have extraordinary language skills. The problem is that they struggle to express anything related to themselves. Introspection is not an area of their life in which they are gifted. This is also on if the biggest obstacles that impede progress in helping them deal with their mom leaving.…

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February 7, 2020
Read more about the article Back at @AkronChildrens Hospital again today
Akron Children's Hospital / Emmett John / My thoughts / Optometry

Back at @AkronChildrens Hospital again today

It's been a crazy busy morning. Elliott never fell asleep and Emmett was up on and off throughout the night as well. Both boys made it to school today but Elliott was in an awful mood. Emmett was only there for a short time cause as soon as I was done walking, I needed to get him to Akron Children's Hospital for his eye exam. Emmett's been complaining about seeing spots that actually block his vision. He thought it was normal, so he never said anything about it until recently. We're currently in the dilation room waiting for the second part of his exam. He's doing pretty good, even though he hates the eye drops. I'll let you know how it goes.

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February 6, 2020