Read more about the article Sometimes I struggle with feelings of being a terrible parent but not tonight
Autism Parenting Struggles / My thoughts

Sometimes I struggle with feelings of being a terrible parent but not tonight

I really struggle with feelings of being a terrible parent. I feel this way for a number of reasons but one of the biggest reasons revolves around failing to give my kids a better life. I know there's only so much I can do but I still feel like I'm failing them. Anyway, I decided to get them out of the house yesterday. Our house is so small. And they have nowhere to play. It breaks my heart to see them try have fun but end up getting frustrated. Honestly it feels pretty shitty. I'm very preoccupied but I wanted to stop what I was doing and give them my undivided attention. Lizze was sick and whatever I did, I would have to go it alone. After talking to the…

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March 10, 2019
Read more about the article We don’t always get to do what we want
Autism Parenting Insight / My thoughts

We don’t always get to do what we want

Lizze is sick and the boys are driving me crazy. They have a ton of energy and are in desperate need of an outlet. Seeing as we can't really spend time in our yard, for various reasons, including safety, we need to find something else. The boys are bored of always going to the same park so I figured I'd take them hiking at Quail Hollow. I'm not really in the mood to take this on, especially alone but being a parent isn't always easy and we sometimes have to do things we don't feel like doing. It's actually a pretty nice day and it would be nice if we could take advantage of it. It's in the 50's and partly sunny, so why not do some hiking. On the…

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March 9, 2019
Read more about the article An Assault of Verbiage
My thoughts / Podcast

An Assault of Verbiage

I'm doing something a bit different with this episode of The Autism Dad Podcast. Last week I was supposed to be interviewing Harish Bikmal, the founder of Zenaviv. Unfortunately, there were some technical issues that interfered with recording and I had to reschedule. In order to sorta fill in the gap, I thought I would finally get to one of the requests I have been getting. Check out the bonus episode below and let me know what you think.. ☺

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March 8, 2019
Read more about the article ETY-Kids 5 Safe-Listening In-Ear Headphones by @WorldWideStereo (Review)
My thoughts / Reviews

ETY-Kids 5 Safe-Listening In-Ear Headphones by @WorldWideStereo (Review)

This brief review is a bit overdue as a result of a WordPress related glitch last week. I wanted to get this out there for parents who are worried about their kids damaging their hearing as a result of using headphones and listening at dangerously high volume levels. My Son Elliott has been using the Etymotic Research ETY-Kids 5 Safe-Listening In-Ear Headphones for a little while now. Elliott is huge into music and if he's awake, he's got earbuds in. He loves his Bose CQ 35 II NC headphones but can't wear them all the time. Lizze and I have been concerned about him damaging his hearing because he tends to listen at higher volumes. When I was approached to do this review, I jumped on it because Elliott loves…

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March 8, 2019
Read more about the article This unfortunate animal cracker led to a very awkward conversation with my youngest
Link / My thoughts

This unfortunate animal cracker led to a very awkward conversation with my youngest

For starters, we're dealing with an unexpected change in routine this morning. School was canceled because so many people are sick. There is strep throat, another unknown viral thing but there are also several confirmed cases of flu in the school. I can't stress enough just how important it is to get your flu shot every year. People actually die from the flu so get it done. 😉 Anyway, Lizze and I were sitting in the living room this morning, contemplating what to do with our day when we heard a ton of commotion from the boys room. I assumed they were fighting again because that's sorta their default setting at times and they're both thrown off by there being no school. As I stopped what I were doing and…

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March 7, 2019
Read more about the article Yes there was a meltdown but I’m still super proud
Emmett John / My thoughts

Yes there was a meltdown but I’m still super proud

We had another rougher morning with Mr. Emmett today. He was thrown off for a couple of reasons. For starters, he forgot to do his take-home work from yesterday. He was very upset with himself for that but he never forgets that kind of stuff. Secondly, he was going to school by himself because Elliott will be at Akron Children's Hospital today for an appointment. All of this culminated into a big old meltdown. Thankfully, Emmett was able to work through it. He got his work done and went to school on his own. When he hopped out of the car, he had a smile on his face and was in a good place. I reminded him on the way to school, that I was very proud of him. I…

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March 6, 2019
Read more about the article Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned morning #meltdown?
My thoughts

Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned morning #meltdown?

What a morning it's been. We had meltdowns before school over socks not feeling right and that sorta set the tone very early on. Meltdowns are never pleasant for anyone, but they're especially unpleasant for the person experiencing them. Morning meltdowns are pretty common in my house but they're not my preferred way to starting the day. Thankfully we recovered. After a quick trip to the school office to make sure about something for Mr. Emmett, he felt better and we were able put a check in the win column for at least getting the kids to school. We celebrate each victory as they come. 😉 Unfortunately, we had a hiccup in our plans for the rest of the day. Gavin was supposed to be in Cleveland this afternoon for…

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March 5, 2019
Read more about the article You may think me a bad parent for this..
Autism Parenting Struggles / Gavin / My thoughts

You may think me a bad parent for this..

In an effort to try and not internalize this, I'm going to be brutally honest. Gavin is driving me absolutely fucking crazy. I love him. I truly do and I know that for the most part, this isn't his fault, but holy shit, I'm going to lose what's left of my mind. Gavin is a really amazing person and he has so many admirable qualities. He's kind, helpful, respectful, never gives up, never complains and always has a smile on his face. Gavin is the kind of person who would do anything for anyone, even at his own expense. That being said, Gavin is also very difficult to coexist with. He talks incessantly, freaks out over every single mistake he makes, he tries to parent his younger brothers, manipulates and…

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March 4, 2019