Read more about the article It’s the not knowing that kills me as a parent
Gavin / My thoughts

It’s the not knowing that kills me as a parent

It's becoming clear that Gavin's struggling more and more. Unfortunately, there's no way to know if this is another leg of his journey with Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, the result of changes to his medications or just par for the course. His level of functionality is decreasing and doing so in weird areas. Things like self-awareness are slipping. There's never been a great deal of that to begin with, so this change is noticeable. What do I mean by self-awareness? Gavin had an ice cream sandwich this afternoon. About three hours later, I took the boys to the park to hunt Pokémon for short while before picking up their pizza for school tomorrow. I wasn't paying attention to Gavin's face, like I usually do before we leave and I was caught…

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March 20, 2017
Read more about the article 1 BIG reason I’m worried about Gavin
Gavin / My thoughts

1 BIG reason I’m worried about Gavin

This is an important update on Gavin's current overall status and one that's a bit concerning, although not entirely unexpected. Gavin's officially off of Lithium for the first time in over a decade. We were a bit caught off guard at the timing because we were supposed to stop this coming Thursday but when his new box of meds was delivered this weekend, it was devoid of Lithium. By the time we would be able to address this, it would be close to the original cutoff date anyway. Frankly, it doesn't matter, aside from finding out why they pulled it in the first place because we never told them to. Anyway, Gavin's off of Lithium for the first time in over ten years, and we're bracing for a major unknown.…

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March 19, 2017
Read more about the article My kids with #Autism are terrible when they’re sick lol
My thoughts

My kids with #Autism are terrible when they’re sick lol

I hate when my kids are sick. I don't like them having to go through that and they are really terrible sick kids.  When I say really terrible sick kids, I mean they are miserable and make everyone around them miserable. I'm talking super cranky, very difficult and quite prone to massive meltdowns.  Having said that, it's not their fault and my heart goes out to them. I provide them with every comfort I can but that doesn't mean they don't still drive me crazy.  I'm pretty frustrated with my whiny, bickering and disagreeable sick kiddos today. Lol Sensory issues are ramped up and they are so sensitive to absolutely everything. I give them patience, until I'm almost out and ready to run off and join the circus.  It doesn't…

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March 13, 2017
Read more about the article The Autism Dad blog made #4 on the list of top 50 #Autism Blogs
Awards

The Autism Dad blog made #4 on the list of top 50 #Autism Blogs

I wanted to take a minute to thank Feedspot for an amazing honor. They've indexed thousands of Autism related blogs and pulled to top 50 for their list. I've been selected and placed in the #4 spot. This is pretty amazing for me and I know I'm in excellent company. Below is the quote from Feedspot on how they ranked everyone. Thank you Feedspot for this honor. :-)      The Best Autism blogs from thousands of top Autism blogs in our index using search and social metrics. Data will be refreshed once a week. These blogs are ranked based on following criteria Google reputation and Google search ranking Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter, and other social media sites Quality and consistency of posts. Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review  …

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February 3, 2017
Read more about the article Some Good Gavin News
Gavin / My thoughts

Some Good Gavin News

I wanted to share a snippet of good news. Yesterday I mentioned that Gavin was having bladder issues once again. He was frustrated by this and understandably so. My concern was that we were going to see this becoming a trend and that wouldn't be a good thing. Thankfully, today seems to be a better day for him. He hasn't said anything about having to constantly go to the bathroom. My hope is that yesterday was just a fluke and things will continue to remain stable in this particular area of his life. Gavin certainly has enough on his plate, and if we can keep even one thing from piling back on, that's a very positive thing.      

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January 16, 2017
Read more about the article When my kids have a great day at school
My thoughts

When my kids have a great day at school

The boys had a great day at school today. That's not a huge surprise, but I never assume anything. I appreciate this ending to the week because we are heading into four day weekend and it's always a good thing to start those out on the right foot. Apparently, tomorrow is a teacher in-service day and then, of course; Monday is MLK Day. I'm super proud of the boys for giving the week their all and walking away with a smile. We don't have any plans for this weekend, but the boys are going to spend the night with their grandparents tomorrow night. That means we get a break. :-)

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January 12, 2017
Read more about the article Important year end message to my readers
My thoughts

Important year end message to my readers

2016 has been a tumultuous year for The Autism Dad family, full of ups and downs. I began the year as a single father raising the boys on my own and have ended it with my family whole once again. :-) It's always so difficult for me to put together a year in review posts because there's always so much that happens and deciding what makes the cut is tough. I never know what to say that I haven't already said a million times before. For this particular entry, I'm going to try something a little different. Rather than try and list the important things that have happened, I'm simply going to share a few things I've learned this year. 2016 was a year of amazing growth for me as a person. Unfortunately,…

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January 1, 2017