Read more about the article My least favorite time of year
My thoughts

My least favorite time of year

The next week or so is going to be very frustrating because it's Pro Football Hall of Fame week. I hate this time of year because it's incredibly disruptive. People flood into Canton, Ohio from all over the world to participate in the HOF festivities. It's the one time of year where Canton cares about how it looks. The street cleaners are out in full force, and the parade route is getting a fresh coat of paint. One of the big issues for me personally is that they close off the park to the public. Parking is impossible to find, and people literally park anywhere they can. Walking becomes much harder because I have to find a new location and that isn't always possible because of everything I have going…

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July 31, 2019
Read more about the article Frustrating moments but I feel like progress was made
My thoughts / Today's Victory

Frustrating moments but I feel like progress was made

We had therapy tonight, and some interesting things happened. First of, for the most part, everyone got along well. That's always something worth celebrating. While it wasn't perfect and Gavin lost his cool, he also worked through it pretty quickly. The issue with Gavin today happened as a result of Gavin struggling to understand some basic concepts. The kids were playing monkey in the middle with one of those soft, indoor frisbees. There is limited space to play, and in order to keep things, boundaries needed to be established. The person in the middle had to stay inside of the established lines, and the people not in the middle had to stay outside the established lines. It's a very basic and fundamentally simple concept that everyone agreed on prior to…

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July 31, 2019
Read more about the article This scares the sh!t out of me
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

This scares the sh!t out of me

Gavin is driving me nuts. He's talking nonstop and it seems like even single step instructions are needed to be repeated multiple times. Absolutely none of this is his fault. He's not trying to drive me crazy, and I do my best to keep that in mind, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. It's pretty overwhelming to face this day in and day out. The only silver lining is that Gavin is very happy and still being maintained in the home. I don't know how long that will last but all options are limited. We essentially have two options. Firstly, we could find a way to make things work at home. We would have to do that in such a way that doesn't negatively impact the…

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July 30, 2019
Read more about the article Are you interested in sharing your story on my #podcast?
My thoughts

Are you interested in sharing your story on my #podcast?

I've been thinking about it lately and I wanted to share my plan for season 2 of The Autism Dad podcast. Season 1 consisted of 11 episodes and was my first solo venture into podcasting. It was far from perfect but was received well. I'm going to begin recording season 2 by the end of August, as soon as the kids are back in school. That's the best chance I have at a semi-quiet environment for recording. My goal is to record during the school year and then end the season when school lets out. As far as topics are concerned, this season I was to spend time giving parents a platform and a voice. I used to do this on the blog all the time but I'd love interview…

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July 30, 2019
Read more about the article The kids discovered our shameful, dirty little secret
Autism Parenting Confessions / My thoughts

The kids discovered our shameful, dirty little secret

You may recall that I had to get Lizze to the Cleveland Clinic very early today, and because of that, the kids spent the night with their grandparents. I also previously mentioned that Lizze and I were going to have an official date night last night, something we rarely get to do. We sometimes grab takeout and watch movies at home but we almost never go on official dates and that sucks. For us, an official date is something like going to dinner and a movie. It just doesn't happen very often. In fact, I think last night was the first time this entire year that we were able to do something like this. While we were debating what movie to see, it came down between The Lion King and…

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July 30, 2019
Read more about the article We are it to the @ClevelandClinic
Cleveland Clinic / My thoughts

We are it to the @ClevelandClinic

We've made it to the Cleveland Clinic this morning, and that's despite the Universe's best efforts to delay us with horrible standstill traffic. I'm hoping that we won't be here all-day. All that said, we made it safe, sound, and on time. That's what matters the most.

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July 29, 2019
Read more about the article Statistically we have to catch a break at some point, right?
My thoughts

Statistically we have to catch a break at some point, right?

I was really excited about getting out with Lizze tonight. The kids are gone cause we have a very early appointment at the Cleveland Clinic in the morning and her parents were kind enough to keep them overnight. 😉 ❤️ Anyway, Lizze and I went to the movies and had planned on going out to dinner afterward, but unfortunately, Lizze wasn't feeling well, and we returned home as soon as the movie was over. We still had fun, but it was cut way short. It sucks because she's miserable and frankly, I really feel like we needed to focus on us. Lizze and I are good, but that doesn't mean we don't have to work at it. We must take the time to focus on our marriage, especially considering all…

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July 29, 2019
Read more about the article Breaking News: My wife and I are going on an official date today
My thoughts

Breaking News: My wife and I are going on an official date today

I can't even remember the last time Lizze and I have gone on an actual date. We've been known to grab some takeout and watch Netflix but anything beyond that is quite rare. It's rare for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the kids are always here and on occasion when they aren't, Lizze usually isn't feel well or we don't have the money. The kids are gone today and tonight because Lizze has to be at the Cleveland Clinic super early in the morning. A huge thanks goes out to her parents for watching them for us. I know first hand how challenging all three of the can be and we're grateful for the help. Lizze and I are going to see a movie and probably go to dinner. If…

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July 28, 2019