Sometimes surviving is a monumental victory

We survived another challenging day. I ended up having to run some errands this afternoon and so we didn't make it to the park. I don't think anyone really wanted to go, so no one was hugely disappointed. Elliott struggled this afternoon. It's hard to explain what exactly he goes through but they seem like sorta extreme reactions to ordinary things. I know he has Autism. I know he has ADHD and anxiety. I also know that he's almost a teenager as well. What we're seeing is more than that and it's one of the reasons we're seeking help from Akron Children's Hospital. Between the actual testing and twelve years of observation, Dr. Pattie is concerned that we may be looking at bipolar disorder. There are no clear-cut edges here…

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Trying to reduce the stress in our house is not easy

Today is a totally blah kinda day. We are in a weird place at the moment and that's creating some unneeded stress for everyone. The boys (meaning Elliott and Emmett) are very stressed out over the enormous tree in our yard and are worried that more of the tree is going to fall. This has them on edge, which influences their behavior and mood. I want to get them out of the house today and away from what's stressing them out. It's a really nice first full day of Fall and a trip to the park could be a great way to spend the afternoon. Unfortunately, Lizze is not doing so well today either and her migraine is limiting her movements right now. Anything that we go and do this…

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The heartbreaking reality of parenting an adult child

Being a parent isn't easy. I don't think anyone would argue that statement. Being a special needs parents it's without a doubt, the most difficult endeavor of my entire life. We are facing a very difficult reality right now with our oldest, Gavin. Gavin's going to be 19 in a few months and we're still adjusting to him being an adult. My goodness, does that make me feel old. I've been raising Gavin as my own since he was about 15 months old. I legally adopted him many years ago and that was a moment I will never forget. I'll always look back on the day we went to court to make things final, as a blessing and a truly amazing experience. My personal journey with Gavin has brought me…

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This has been hard on my kids with #Autism

One of the things we try to do as Autism parents is control as much going on around us as possible. We don't do this because we're inherently control freaks, we do it because we try to limit the things that can cause our kids distress. Sometimes we have some control but more often than not, all we can do is deal with the fallout. We're living in one of those times right now. Last night we had a really bad storm knock down part of a tree, causing damage to our house and a massive amount of damage to our yard. We're very fortunate that it isn't worse than it is but the kids are struggling right now, Emmett especially. They are freaked out by what happened, the damage,…

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So yeah, it’s worse than I thought

When I woke up this morning, I had actually forgotten about the enormous section of tree up against our house. When I did remember, the first thought was how lucky we were that it wasn't any worse than it was. That's still true but thinking that somehow made it seem like is really wasn't that bad. You can read in more detail about what happened by clicking here. I was very quickly jolted back to reality when I stepped outside to survey the damage this morning. It's absolutely true that we are insanely lucky that things aren't any worse then they are. In fact, I can't begin to explain how it isn't worse. We're talking inches of clearance in some areas and if it had landed only inches to the…

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It’s pretty bad but thank God no one was hurt

My thoughts are scattered. As a result of tonight's events, my stress level and worry are at all time highs. It's probably best if I just start at the beginning because I'm sorta processing all this in real time. My feeling are still raw and I'm unsure of what's going to happen. Pictures are on the last page. I learned that both Elliott and Emmett were having a rough day after I picked them up from school. Elliott had his mechanical pencil stolen and Emmett had his water bottle stolen. Neither of these things are huge deals to me but to the boys, it's was a huge deal and a betrayal of sorts. Things have been tight financially and so we haven't been able to really do anything that wasn't…

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I’m so proud of my wife today

The boys got off to school this morning without trouble. Lizze and Gavin came with us because we were going to hit the park and go walking before returning home. Walking isn't always easy but Lizze did really good this morning. We went for just under a mile and a half. Gavin did well also and didn't complain abiht anything the whole time. Sometimes Gavin will experience joints popping out of socket while walking and that's very painful. Everything went smoothly for him and that's always a good thing. The walk was shorter than I would do on my own and that's okay. I'll make a second trip later today and get some more time in. I'm so proud of Lizze because I know how hard this is for her…

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I could and even should be angry but that would only hurt me

This is a little frustrating. I wasn't here when Gavin's infusion supplies were delivered at the beginning of September. Normally, we check them right away and make sure we received everything. For whatever reason, that fell through the cracks this time. Gavin informed us that he was short three needle sets last night. He received his infusion today but is out of needles for the rest of the month. I wasn't upset because while this has been very problematic in the past, they've been doing pretty well recently. Sometimes things happen and there's no sense in getting all worked up over it. I calmly called this afternoon and explained that we were shorted the needle sets. The pharmacy said they would get them out to us on Monday. I said…

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