Read more about the article Do you know how much fun shoe shopping is for two kids with #Autism?
Autism Parenting Insight / Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / Sensory / Shoes and Socks

Do you know how much fun shoe shopping is for two kids with #Autism?

Ha.. That's a trick question because it's a fricking nightmare. After we left the cookout, I took Elliott shoe shopping. Emmett decided that he wanted to try shoes again as well. I wasn't really in a position to do both right now but with Emmett, I can't not take advantage of his willingness to try shoes again. That opportunity almost never comes around. In fact, it's been about two years since the last time he was willing to try. Elliott actually isn't too, too bad. He's more indecisive when it comes to shopping. It's not usually that big of a deal but it depends on his mood and how stressed out or overstimulated he is at the moment. Emmett on the other hand is never easy. His tolerance for anything…

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May 27, 2018
Read more about the article It was a really bad migraine day
Family Time / Lizze / Migraines / My thoughts

It was a really bad migraine day

It's been a rough day for Lizze. She always has a migraine but there are days where it's way worse than others. The weather's been changing over the last 24 hours and that tends to make things much worse for her. The boys and I spent the late afternoon/early evening at my sister's house for another family cookout. Lizze was in one of those places where light was her enemy because it made the migraine worse. She stayed behind, closed the curtains and benefited from the quiet. She was missed but everyone understood and wished her well. I hate seeing her like this and pray that her new neurologist is able to not only get her in sooner but actually help with the migraines. Nothing up until this point has…

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May 26, 2018
Read more about the article #Autism Parenting: It’s time to give yourself a little credit
Autism Parenting Insight / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

#Autism Parenting: It’s time to give yourself a little credit

Autism Parents have to be many, many things. Unfortunately, one of the most common things they are is hard on themselves. The average Autism parent is about a million times harder on themselves than anyone else possibly could be. We tend to hold ourselves to an impossible standard and blame ourselves for the struggles our kids with Autism often face. There's even a part of us that feels insane amounts of guilt because we can't take away the struggles our kids face on a daily basis. We often beat ourselves up for things we have absolutely zero control over because... Well, truthfully, I don't know why we do that but I do know it's wrong and unhealthy. We'll tell you all the ways our kids are amazing without any trouble…

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May 26, 2018
Read more about the article Today was the last of school
Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts

Today was the last of school

The boys celebrated their last day of school today. Both had great days and both have mixed feelings about the summer break. They're both excited to be out of school for the summer but at the same time, they're going to miss it as well. If I hadn't mentioned this before (but I have about a gazillion times), kids with Autism don't usually do well with change. It's something that parents like myself, dread more than many other things in our lives because a disruption in one's routine can lead to massive meltdowns. Routine is paramount to maintaining everyone's sanity but it's not always easy or even possible. With that in mind, we are bracing ourselves for a challenging week or so. Hopefully, everything will balance out in short order…

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May 26, 2018
Read more about the article The Did You Knows of #Autism Parenting: The Price of Admission
My thoughts / The Did You Knows of Autism Parenting

The Did You Knows of #Autism Parenting: The Price of Admission

I hope this helps people to A) realize they aren't alone in their struggle, if they feel that way currently and B) to better understand what goes into making decisions that on the surface may not make sense to them. Autism parenting is very difficult and the decisions we are tasked with making can be even moreso. Feel free to share this with anyone who will benefit. Every share helps. ☺

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May 25, 2018
Read more about the article An important truth about being an #Autism parent
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

An important truth about being an #Autism parent

As an Autism parent, life is exceptionally stressful and that's on the good days. When things in life get rocky, for whatever reason, my body and mind simply want to shutdown. It's a self-preservation thing and unfortunately, being an Autism Parent doesn't leave a whole lot of room for shutting down. There are challenges in our everyday lives that I simply haven't been able to overcome and sometimes, that knowledge weighs heavier on me. I turn forty in August and I'm almost compulsively evaluating my life. There are things that I've accepted will never happen and things that need to happen, regardless of the challenge involved. I'm okay with the things I've accepted won't happen but I struggle with the things I've failed to yet accomplish. I'm not sleeping or…

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May 25, 2018
Read more about the article Preparing for a crazy Summer in our not-so-safe neighborhood with @VivintGivesBack
Featured / Vivint Gives Back

Preparing for a crazy Summer in our not-so-safe neighborhood with @VivintGivesBack

Sometimes I share my experience with Vivint Gives Back in regards to helping prevent wandering. There's also another side to our Vivint Smart Home System, provided to my family, and that's security. We live in a neighborhood that has on countless occasions, proved itself to be very unsafe. We've been involved in drive by shootings, people have been stabbed in front of our house and we hear gunshots almost every single day. Our car was just recently broken into again as well. It gets scary, especially for the kids. As summer approaches, we are working on some commonsense safety measures (that I'm not getting any into in this particular post) but aside from commonsense, we rely heavily on our Vivint Smart Home System to help keep us safe. We have…

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May 24, 2018
Read more about the article I’m worried Gavin’s becoming paronoid
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

I’m worried Gavin’s becoming paronoid

Something Gavin brought up during his visit with Dr. Moodley in Pediatric Neurology, had nothing to do with why he was there. Dr. Moodley was trying to involve Gavin in as much of his health care as was possible. Clearly it's not possible but I like that he tried anyway. When asked if there was anything bothering him, meaning anything Dr. Moodley deals with, not just anything, Gavin replied with an answer that has me worried. One of the things that we have to be very careful with in regards to Gavin being Schizophrenic, is watching for signs of paronoia. The only step beyond Schizophrenia is Paronoid Schizophrenia. That's not a good step at all for those keeping track. Gavin's never really shown signs of paronoia, at least consistently enough…

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May 24, 2018