Read more about the article Making changes to keep Gavin from hurting himself at night
Gavin / Vivint Gives Back

Making changes to keep Gavin from hurting himself at night

We've been having some issues with Gavin, particularly at night. The other day, Gavin got up about 9 PM to use the bathroom. Lizze was still reading to the kids and I was in the living room. All of a sudden, we heard a really loud thud. I thought Emmett had fallen off the top bunk but Lizze headed right to the bathroom cause she knew it was Gavin. Gavin swears up and down that he never fell. He claims he only put his hands on the floor to keep himself from falling. Everyone in the house head the thud and no one believes it was from him gently putting his hands on the ground. The problem is that for some reason, his bedtime medication is making him very sedated…

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April 12, 2018
Read more about the article (PSA) Why Swimming Lessons are Critical for Kids on the #Autism Spectrum
Guest Post / PSA

(PSA) Why Swimming Lessons are Critical for Kids on the #Autism Spectrum

Why Swimming Lessons are Critical for Kids on the Autism Spectrum By: Michael Morris, Goldfish Swim School Everybody in the pool! Yes, that really means everybody. It is widely recognized that all kids need swim lessons. In fact, the American Red Cross says that the number one thing that parents can do to keep kids safer around water is to enroll them in swim lessons. Researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health recently conducted a study that concluded that children with autism are 160 times more likely to drown than the general pediatric population. The lead researcher stated, “Given the exceptionally heightened risk of drowning for children with autism, swimming classes should be the intervention of top priority.” (Source: My Autism.Org) https://youtu.be/WE3NIKGEhOM The swim and water safety…

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April 12, 2018
Read more about the article My oldest son with #Autism is really trying my patience
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My Personal Victory

My oldest son with #Autism is really trying my patience

I'm not going to mince words here. Gavin is driving me crazy and there's no end in sight. He's eighteen years old on the outside and about six years old on the inside. This large age gap between his emotional age and his chronological age has always been problematic. As he gets older, it's becoming more obvious and increasingly frustrating. Gavin's a great kid. He loves his family to the best of his ability, always looking to help around the house and he never gives up or complains about his lot in life. I've raised him as my own since he was about fifteen months old and I see him no differently than I do Elliott or Emmett. Unfortunately, it's getting harder and harder to overlook some of the behaviors…

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April 11, 2018
Read more about the article I’m hoping for a good day all around
My thoughts

I’m hoping for a good day all around

The boys got off to school without much trouble. Lizze got their lunches together and I cooked some scrambled eggs. Of course, Elliott was the only one to eat them because Emmett will only eat scrambled eggs is they are pure yellow, without any white showing. That wasn't happening this morning so I will settle for one out of two. Emmett will be finishing up state testing today and his teachers are cooking them a pancake breakfast in their classroom, so he'll be fine. ☺ I've been checking with Elliott after school each day (which I've always done) to find out how things are going for him. So far it seems like things are going pretty well. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean anything because Elliott never tells us about something…

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April 11, 2018
Read more about the article A real life example of why #Autism Parenting is so challenging
Autism Parenting Insight / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

A real life example of why #Autism Parenting is so challenging

Throughout the school year, we've had some concerns with certain teachers. It's not that they're doing something that was clearly wrong but rather we disagreed with their approach to dealing with kids on the Autism Spectrum. Recently, Elliott has been emotionally distraught over things he said were happening in the classroom. These things ranged from being singled out in front of the class, being questioned about his medications and being shamed over his struggles with homework. Whenever we've approached the teachers about this, Elliott says he would be confronted the next day by his teachers and he was terrified. When this came to our attention last week (Thursday), my initial reaction is one of being pissed off and wanting blood. He's one of my babies and I'm a papa bear.…

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April 11, 2018
Read more about the article I’m a little lost right now
My thoughts

I’m a little lost right now

It's no secret that I'm struggling a bit right now. If I'm being honest, I'm struggling more than just a bit. I sound like a scratched record but the withdrawal from Paxil is killing me and it's impacting me in many areas of my life, this blog being one of them. Once upon a time, I had a direction and was moving in a somewhat linear fashion. Lately, most of what you will read here are random thoughts and experiences because that's just where I'm at. I know that makes it harder to follow and I understand that but my life isn't easy to live either. I'm really trying to make this user friendly and as helpful as to my families as possible. I ask that you remain patient with…

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April 10, 2018
Read more about the article How U-Laces help my family and can probably help yours as well
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

How U-Laces help my family and can probably help yours as well

I love connecting people with the technology that can improve their lives. When you're a special needs parent, sometimes the simplest life hack can make all the difference in the world. One example of this in my house, is U-Lace. I've worked with, written about and did a detailed review of U-Lace before. You can check out the YouTube video, as well as the gallery from that review below. https://youtu.be/vfbX5UnGvSw Click the image to view the gallery [foogallery id="67595"] Seeing as it's Autism Awareness month, I wanted to circle back and share how U-Lace has benefited my Autism family because they may just benefit yours as well. ☺ Let's start off by explaining what U-Laces are and how they can benefit a child with Autism. If you check out their…

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April 8, 2018
Read more about the article It’s simply exhausting
Gavin / My thoughts

It’s simply exhausting

The boys spent the night at Lizze's parents house last night. That left us with only Gavin in to worry about for a little while. In truth, only Gavin to worry about is a bit misleading. Gavin is an amazing kid/adult and we love him to the ends of the Earth and back but he is incredibly stressful to live with. We have to keep a closer eye on him than we do the other boys because Gavin lacks the capacity to self-regulate and completely lacks commonsense. I don't mean these in a disrespectful or degrading way either. He just requires a tremendous amount of time, energy and patience. It's exhausting. That said, we had a few hiccups last night but they weren't anything that pushed me over the edge.…

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April 8, 2018