Read more about the article Day 2 of being back in the classroom
Emmett John / School / Victories

Day 2 of being back in the classroom

I just picked up Emmett from school today and his second day back has been a resounding success. He's so excited and I feel so good right now because after focusing so long on his physical safety, I can finally doing something positive for his emotional health as well. Everything went well for him today and he's anxious to return. Tomorrow will be state testing again, as well as the last day of the school week. He'll return on Monday for regular in person learning. Assuming nothing changes dramatically with COVID, he should be able to finish out the school year. I'm so grateful for all the love and support as he ventures back into the classroom. Unfortunately, Elliott doesn't have the same opportunity but he will be back at…

0 Comments
April 7, 2021
Read more about the article Emmett returned to the classroom today
COVID19 / Emmett John / My thoughts / Planning

Emmett returned to the classroom today

Today was such a big day, especially for Emmett. I haven't mentioned this in a little while because I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Today was the moment of truth and here's what happened. State testing is ridiculously mandatory this year, despite the pandemic. I have made my thoughts on that quite clear. It's flat out fucking stupid that we didn't skip testing this year. We know the scores are going to be lower but it's because our kids were surviving a fucking pandemic, not because they're incapable of learning or the teachers aren't doing their jobs. Sorry, I get pretty fired up about this but I digress. Anyway, Emmett was required to return to school for the testing process and he will be required in and off…

2 Comments
April 6, 2021
Read more about the article A Super Quick Update
My thoughts

A Super Quick Update

It's been a pretty amazing day for those of us living in the The Autism Dad household today. The boys did well at school and I feel like I accomplished a good bit before I writing this, ready to call it a night. I just took a melatonin, so I'm gonna make this quick and painless. I should be getting the car back in the morning and hopefully, that will be the last time it's in the bodyshop. The boys and I are going to be moving our movie night from Friday to Wednesday because they will be at their mom's for the whole weekend. I'm really excited for them and for me. I'm looking forward to this weekend. Anyway, I will be finishing this Friday's episode a bit early…

0 Comments
March 30, 2021
Read more about the article I’m so excited about this week
My thoughts

I’m so excited about this week

I had a pretty good weekend and I feel relatively accomplished. The boys and I did some yardwork and will be planting flowers this week, weather permitting. We also began our descent into spring cleaning. We got a good bit done already and we're going to spend some time every single day continuing the progress. The boys head back to school in the morning. I still don't think it makes sense to do things this way but I don't make the rules. The boys are going to be at their moms all weekend and I'm so excited for them. It's been forever since they've been able to go over so I think it will do them a world of good. I feel like life is just coming together for us.…

3 Comments
March 28, 2021
Read more about the article Looking forward to hitting the farmers/flea markets again
Sponsored Post

Looking forward to hitting the farmers/flea markets again

One of the things I really miss the most from my life prior to COVID is visiting and spending time with my family and friends. That is so important to me and it's been way too long. Something else I miss is our trips to the flea market. We used to drive up almost every single week and hit both the farmer's market and flea markets to stock up on fruit, veggies, and little random things we came across while walking around. The boys loved getting fresh, locally grown fruits and veggies, as well as all the cool things you can find at a flea market. Over the years we found all kinds of really interesting, wonderful and kinda weird things at the flea market. The kids would find little…

0 Comments
March 21, 2021
Read more about the article I’m nearing the bright light at the end of this very dark tunnel
My thoughts

I’m nearing the bright light at the end of this very dark tunnel

So the kids are on Spring Break and the timing sorta baffles me a little bit. They're getting this week off but will return for the week before Easter and I feel like it would have made more sense to go this week and have the week of Easter off, but whatever. There aren't that many plans for this week and I'm okay with that. The boys have a video appointment with Akron Children's and I do have to drop the car off at the body shop again. Hopefully, this will be the last trip unless I need new repairs done. One of the things I plan on doing this week is Spring cleaning. We definitely need to do that because COVID lockdown has taken it's toll on the house…

0 Comments
March 21, 2021
Read more about the article Helping my adult #autistic son find independence
Gavin / Independent Living / My thoughts

Helping my adult #autistic son find independence

Gavin is bound and determined to move out. Until recently, I hadn't really considered that to be an option but this is what he wants. As his parent, I want him to reach whatever level of independence he can achieve. With that in mind, I'm getting the ball rolling on this. The process is likely to take awhile and that's okay because I wouldn't do anything before COVID is resolved and it's safe for Gavin to pursue. I'm going to be preoccupied this week so I don't envision making any serious progress. I wanted to outline my current plan but keep in mind this is subject to change. I expect that we have a full year, at the very least, before we can really do anything. I want to make…

0 Comments
February 7, 2021
Read more about the article Huge thank you to my friends at the Stark County Health Department and here’s why
My thoughts

Huge thank you to my friends at the Stark County Health Department and here’s why

It's been kind of a whirlwind day in The Autism Dad household. I had 2 interviews scheduled this afternoon and ended up having to reschedule one of them for a later date. I hate inconveniencing my guests but it was unavoidable. Eariler this week, I received the callback I had been waiting for in regards to Gavin's first dose of the COVID vaccine. He was scheduled for 3:40pm this afternoon. That sorta turned our day upside down because not only did it mean breaking quarantine, but we'd be going somewhere with a lot of other people. It was a calculated risk and one that we couldn't avoid. I was able to get my first interview done before shutting down and making sure Gavin was ready to go. He was so…

1 Comment
January 29, 2021