Read more about the article I couldn’t be prouder
Elliott / My thoughts / Proud Dad Moments

I couldn’t be prouder

I want to remind all the parents out there to never lose hope. This will be very short and I feel like the picture says it all. My kids have been in a charter school for kids on the spectrum, since kindergarten. The idea of mainstreaming seemed scary and frankly, impossible at times. I always pushed the idea aside thinking I was doing what was best for my kids. I genuinely felt I was doing what was best. Fast forward to Elliott's sophomore year at the charter school and he became the target of bullying that was relentless and not handled well by the school at first. He decided that he wanted to transfer high schools, more than 3/4 of the way through the year. I wasn't very comfortable with…

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May 15, 2022
Read more about the article What is now is not necessarily what will be later
My thoughts

What is now is not necessarily what will be later

For a number of reasons, the last few weeks have been physically and emotionally exhausting. There are a million reasons for this but I'm not going to talk about everything. I just want to focus on the ones that may be the most helpful to parents out there living in the trenches on a daily. I have so many positive things in my life and I appreciate every single one of them. There are other things going on that weigh heavy on me, cause me to feel overwhelmed, unsure, and even alone. I've been talking about some of the school-related difficulties and how as a parent, I'm just trying to do the right thing. The school issues have been going on since returning from Christmas break. I've been incredibly overwhelmed…

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March 13, 2022
Read more about the article Mainstream Anxiety
My thoughts

Mainstream Anxiety

It's been a minute because my life has been a little overwhelming lately. I'm feeling incredibly anxious tonight, and I thought it might be helpful to write for a bit before I try to get some sleep. There's a few things going on right now that have me on edge, and I'm going to go into a few of them. This isn't going to be the smoothest article I've written, and it's not meant to be. I'm looking to purge and walk away from some of this shit I'm struggling with. The biggest thing keeping me awake tonight is that Elliott starts at a new high school in the morning. It's been an emotionally exhausting couple of months for Elliott and me. Elliott has been handling everything like a champ,…

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March 11, 2022
Read more about the article We’re giving serious thought to homeschooling at least 1 of our 2 kids with #Autism, that are still in school
Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / School

We’re giving serious thought to homeschooling at least 1 of our 2 kids with #Autism, that are still in school

Full disclosure. I'm exhausted and having a hard time putting thoughts together tonight. I'm going to try and make this as coherent as possible but no promises. Lizze and I are seriously talking about the logistics of homeschooling the boys. Between Emmett's inability to wear clothes and Elliott's emotional struggles that are the result of several things related to school and severe anxiety. The main concern is Emmett though because his struggles physically prevent his attendance. Things with Elliott could be corrected with proper intervention within the school. The idea of homeschooling the boys is not something we take lightly, even in the it's just a possibility phase of talking. There are so many potential downfalls to homeschooling but at the same time, there is a substantial upside as well.…

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January 23, 2018
Read more about the article MAJOR UPDATE: 3 anti-bullying actions taken by the school today 
Bullying / My thoughts / School Related Issues

MAJOR UPDATE: 3 anti-bullying actions taken by the school today 

This is a pretty major update in regards to the Elliott being bullied issue we've been dealing with over the last few months.  To get current, please read back a few posts and you'll be brought up to speed, or just click HERE. I received a call from the principal, whom I have a great line of communication with and he wanted to let me know what his plan of attack was going to be. We also spoke briefly when I picked the boys up from school and I was pleased to hear how things were handled. Here's the long answer short of it. 1) Kids were independently called to the office to discuss anything going on in the classroom that was concerning to them. Basic things like, was anyone being…

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January 26, 2017
Read more about the article 3 ways the school could indirectly deal with my son’s bully
Bullying / Elliott / My thoughts / School Related Issues

3 ways the school could indirectly deal with my son’s bully

I'm not having a good day. I was approached by the interventionist today, while picking the boys up from school. Actually, I was only picking up Elliott cause Emmett was home sick. I've always made it a point to be as honest with this blog as possible. Sometimes the honesty is rather brutal. As I'm writing this, I'm literally shaking because I'm so upset by what I learned today. While I'm not going to go into much detail because I'm jot done with this yet, I do want to talk about what happened. When I left the meeting with the school last Friday, it was decided that she would meet with Elliott alone, this other kid alone and then sit them both down together and try and work through whatever…

26 Comments
January 25, 2017
Read more about the article How I’m dealing with my son’s bully
Bullying / Elliott / My thoughts

How I’m dealing with my son’s bully

I've been largely absent the last day or so because I've been busy. Most everything can wait until a bit later today, but I did want to talk briefly about the bullying situation at school. I met with the school this afternoon and had a thirty-minute discussion about what's going on with Elliott and this bully. While I'm not happy at all, I will say that since I know how to handle this and who to talk to, the process is much easier. The person I spoke with today is very genuine, and I truly believe that she's as horrified about this as I am. In fact, she may even be more upset than I am and I'm pissed off. We decided that she would meet with Elliott on Monday…

6 Comments
January 21, 2017