Unfortunately, we’ve had to adjust our plans

Keeping true with the story of our lives, today hasn't gone as planned. We were supposed to be at the Cleveland Clinic for a follow-up appointment with the epilepsy center in regards to Gavin's recent EEG. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling well this morning and driving that distance would not be responsible of me to do. We already know the EEG was fine and this was more of a technicality but it was still important to us. Aside from not feeling well, we also have the more pressing issue of the car. It's getting easier and easier to share what isn't wrong with the car because the list of problems continue to grow. It's no longer worth fixing but at the same time, we don't have another option. Making the needed…

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It’s been an emotional roller-coaster this weekend and I’m exhausted

It's been an emotional weekend for all of us here in The Autism Dad household. Losing Maggie has been devastating for all, but especially for Elliott and Emmett. They're feeling the loss a bit differently because they have basically never known a time where Maggie wasn't here. They were both so young when we got her, it seems like she was always part of our family. Lizze and I have been trying to keep the boys distracted because that helps them to move forward. Saturday was pretty rough. There was a great many tears shed throughout the day and we really tried to keep the boys occupied, but it didn't always help. On Sunday, all three of the boys hung out with their Grandparents for a large part of the…

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Why did he laugh when our dog died?

If you read my last post in regards to Maggie passing away, you may have noticed that I never made mention of Gavin and there was a reason for that. I want to explain and hopefully educate my readers about what we saw or rather didn't see from Gavin that day. It's important to understand that Autism can be quite mysterious at times and even though I have experienced and a decent understanding, there are times where it's difficult for me to grasp as well. I didn't mention how Gavin reacted to Maggie passing away because I didn't want to go down that path until I'd had a chance to process everything. Let me begin by saying that people with Autism tend to struggle with emotional situations. I'm not saying…

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Maggie passed away last night and we’re all heartbroken

In November of 2008, Emmett was almost six months old and we were a dog-less family, not looking for a dog. In a completely random occurrence, Lizze stumbled across a picture of a dog with the most amazing smile. We weren't looking for a dog because we had just recently had Emmett but we found ourselves drawn to the picture and it turned the dog was actually somewhat local to us. Lizze wanted to go look at her in person and for whatever I went along with it. It was one of those spontaneous things that wasn't really like us at the time. There was just something about this dog and we made the forty-five minute drive to meet her in person, not knowing what to expect. What we didn't…

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Still struggling but forcing myself to exercise

Lizze and I have a few hours to ourselves this morning and that almost never happens. Gavin spent the night at his grandparents and the boys are at school. What I want more than anything is to crawl back into bed and sleep off the nausea but that's not in the agenda. Lizze and I are going to go walking shortly. I want to go. I need to go but I feel like shit still. At the same time, I know that I'll feel better as I walk and that's why I'm forcing myself to go. I'm losing weight and getting back into reaching my fitness goals. It's unfortunate that I'm having such a difficult time withdrawaling from Paxil but the more active I am, the better I feel. So,…

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(PSA) Why Swimming Lessons are Critical for Kids on the #Autism Spectrum

Why Swimming Lessons are Critical for Kids on the Autism Spectrum By: Michael Morris, Goldfish Swim School Everybody in the pool! Yes, that really means everybody. It is widely recognized that all kids need swim lessons. In fact, the American Red Cross says that the number one thing that parents can do to keep kids safer around water is to enroll them in swim lessons. Researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health recently conducted a study that concluded that children with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than the general pediatric population. The lead researcher stated, “Given the exceptionally heightened risk of drowning for children with autism, swimming classes should be the intervention of top priority.” (Source: My Autism.Org) https://youtu.be/WE3NIKGEhOM The swim and water safety…

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My oldest son with #Autism is really trying my patience

I'm not going to mince words here. Gavin is driving me crazy and there's no end in sight. He's eighteen years old on the outside and about six years old on the inside. This large age gap between his emotional age and his chronological age has always been problematic. As he gets older, it's becoming more obvious and increasingly frustrating. Gavin's a great kid. He loves his family to the best of his ability, always looking to help around the house and he never gives up or complains about his lot in life. I've raised him as my own since he was about fifteen months old and I see him no differently than I do Elliott or Emmett. Unfortunately, it's getting harder and harder to overlook some of the behaviors…

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I’m hoping for a good day all around

The boys got off to school without much trouble. Lizze got their lunches together and I cooked some scrambled eggs. Of course, Elliott was the only one to eat them because Emmett will only eat scrambled eggs is they are pure yellow, without any white showing. That wasn't happening this morning so I will settle for one out of two. Emmett will be finishing up state testing today and his teachers are cooking them a pancake breakfast in their classroom, so he'll be fine. ☺ I've been checking with Elliott after school each day (which I've always done) to find out how things are going for him. So far it seems like things are going pretty well. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean anything because Elliott never tells us about something…

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