Gavin – Page 90

It’s been a rough day and this is all I have for now

I'm really sorry that I haven't written much of anything today. I've been way to wrapped up in trying to survive the day, that writing about anything just wasn't going to happen. Personally, I'm struggling a bit and can't seem to get my footing right now. Gavin's a mess. He's seriously struggling and Dr. Pattie saw that for herself tonight during therapy. Gavin had the first aggressive and self-injurious meltdown he's had in a really long time. We had to move him away from his brothers and sit him on the floor. I will say that he did get himself under control and I'm really proud of him for that. He worked through it but it's just more evidence that something is wrong. Gavin hits these cycles…

12 Comments

August 17, 2016

I’m exhausted, scared and overwhelmed

It's been a trying day from start to finish. We had victories and moments of sheer terror today. I'm going to skip the part where Gavin wandered off and ended up lost for short time that seemed like forever because you can read that here. I wrote a post about that earlier and frankly, I don't have the energy to rehash it right now. Just check out the link if you want to catch up on that. While we were getting everyone ready for the out of town trip to the dentist, I told Gavin that I wanted to trim his sideburns. They were getting kinda scraggly and needed touched up. He told me that he wanted to do them himself, using the new razor he got for Christmas last year.…

0 Comments

August 16, 2016

Autism Parenting Woes / Gavin

My oldest with #Autism wandered off today and we couldn’t find him

Before I go any further, let me say that Gavin is safe. We were on our way to the dentist and Gavin started having bladder issues again. We had something that needed replace under warranty at Best Buy, so we opted to do that on the way out of town because Gavin needed the bathroom anyway. This has happened a million times before and this is what usually happens. I'll go do whatever needs done at customer service and Gavin goes straight to the bathroom. He knows exactly where it is and he's gone a few minutes before returning to my side. We worked up to this over a period of time and lots of practice. There's never been an issue until today. I finished up at customer service and…

0 Comments

August 15, 2016

Dentist / Elliott / Gavin

The week of craziness begins today with another trip back to the dentist

We are back in Fairlawn today. This time it's for Elliott and Gavin's dental check up. It's just a routine checkup and shouldn't be a big deal. Elliott's a bundle of nerves and smothered in anxiety. He's knows he's going tomorrow but he's not happy about it. Frankly, he's doing much better than I was prepared for at this point. He's not freaking out and that's a big step forward. I know he's nervous and we'll probably see a lot more of that nervousness, rear up as we get closer to his appointment but I'm really proud of him for being as calm as he's been so far. Gavin on the other hand, couldn't care less about going to the dentist. This kid has been through…

0 Comments

August 15, 2016

Gavin / Psychotic Episode / Schizoaffective Disorder

I fear Gavin’s starting to lose it and that’s not good

I wanted to talk about how Gavin is doing. Lizze and I have been talking about this today and we both agree that Gavin's not doing well. For starters, he's forgetting a great more than is typical for him. Things he would normally do really well, he's unable to complete. His threshold for frustration is very, very low as well. He's debriefed us on a few missions over the last few days and while he's definitely still in a psychotic break or episode, it's his dreams that are beginning to worry me. His dreams are centered around death or dying. The other night, he had a nightmare that my Mom died. She died because someone had stabbed her in the throat with a pitch fork. Gavin says that he woke…

0 Comments

August 13, 2016

Gavin / Good News

Here’s the good news

There's many times that what I have to share is a good news/bad news kinda thing. Today is no different I figured I'd start with the good news first and save the bad news for later because why not. Gavin and I made a run to the grocery store yesterday afternoon. We ended up going to Walmart after filling our water jugs. Money's tight and we're behind on the mortgage and we already know that the gas was shut off two days ago. Despite these things being important and I hate falling behind, we have to eat. Gavin and I headed to Walmart with a very limited budget and we were able to do pretty well. I tried to focus on things that were on the short list of…

0 Comments

August 13, 2016

Gavin / My thoughts

I’m way too petered out to be doing this today

I'm feeling pretty petered out today. The appointment this morning with Emmett and then being up really late with Gavin, has just killed me. In a little bit, I'm going to have to run to the grocery store because I'm assuming we're all going to want to eat dinner tonight. If I don't go, I'm not sure that will be possible.. lol Gavin will probably want to go with me and I totally appreciate his wanting to help but I'm not sure I'll be able to deal with his nonstop talking. I'm definitely not up to talking a out his tablet let games right now. That being said, I want to encourage his desire to help out and learn more about interacting with society because that will only…

0 Comments

August 12, 2016

Gavin / Sleep Issues

Gavin isn’t sleeping tonight because why not

Emmett is sleeping, as is Elliott. One would think this super awesome turn of events would see me finally getting some sleep. You would be wrong and here's why. On a night when Emmett finally falls asleep before midnight, Gavin decides that he's not going to be able to sleep now. Obviously, Gavin isn't choosing to do this, it just sucks that he is unable to sleep, especially since Emmet and Elliott both, are sleeping. I've no idea what's going on with Gavin but frankly, this is unusual for him. The poor kid is really frustrated and there's not a whole lot we can do to help him. I will say that I think it may have something to do with the horrible dream he had on Wednesday night.…

0 Comments

August 12, 2016

Based in Northeast Ohio, Rob Gorski, is an influential blogger and podcast host, best known for "The Autism Dad" blog and podcast. With a mission to educate, validate, and provide support to parents raising children with disabilities, he has transformed his personal experiences as a father of three autistic children into a resource for parents across the globe. Rob’s work has earned recognition from CNN, ABC News, BBC Worldwide, the Tamron Hall Show, and has received dozens of awards for best autism-related blog. His compelling narrative resonates with his audience, making a significant impact on the global autism community.

Supporting Dads in the Autism Community May 1, 2024
2 years ago today I met and interviewed Dr. Temple Grandin April 29, 2024
Gavin hit a major milestone on his journey to independence April 29, 2024
(no title) April 11, 2024
We don’t stop being parents when they become adults March 24, 2024