A sometimes politically incorrect open letter about #Autism Parenting 

Going into this post, please know that I truly understand that every parent faces challenge and struggle. Parenting isn't easy and that should go without saying.  When I speak about the unique challenges facing Autism parents, it's not meant to invalidate the difficulties associated with everyday parenting. At the same time, just as it's important to understand that parenting in general isn't easy, it's important to understand that Autism parenting is something all together different. Something that's gotten under my skin a bit recently, is the way some people have reacted to my mentioning of taking a nap on some days. I'm not sure why anyone would care about that but clearly it's rubbing some people the wrong way. I've decided that I'm going to share a few thoughts I…

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No alone time for me today but that’s okay

Gavin and I are at the school, waiting for the boys to come out the doors.  I don't really know why Gavin wants to come along, especially with his bladder issues but I don't mind the rare silence of company right now. He's listening to his music and doing the potty dance but not talking up a storm.  We've been here six minutes and he's currently making his first trip to the bathroom. 🙁 I wish I knew how to help him but there isn't anything we can do right now. It's not an infection but instead it's most likely a side effect from when he was off the Clozapine for a few days before restarting after we got script fixed.  Clozapine is dangerous the first time you start it…

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It’s been a pretty great day so far because it was bound to happen 

No one was super motivated this morning. The boys were hoping for another day off of school and frankly, so was I. It took a little bit to get them moving this morning but they did pretty well.   Lizze is having a tough time moving around this morning, courtesy of the storm front that moved in last night.  Mr. Emmett went to school with his crocks on but no socks. It wasn't worth the battle today. We called the school and they were cool with it, so Emmett went to school feeling more comfortable than usual.  Elliott went to school having completed all his homework and I know he felt good about that. To be honest, I felt pretty good about it as well.   On the way home…

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It was a rough day but a day filled with victories as well

It was a rough day. I'm not going to sugar coat it because that wouldn't be the truth. Having said that, a rough day doesn't always translate into a bad day.   We were surprised with the boys not having school today. It was for an unusual reason but it was nice having everyone together.  I ended up getting a ton of work done and even hit the grocery store with Gavin before dinner.  He wouldn't stop talking but he was a huge help and I'm really proud of him. ☺  Elliott finished up his homework, even though he didn't want to. He was a bit resistant at first but after a few minutes, he totally owned it and finished everything without a complaint. A lot of positive reinforcement was…

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I need to go to the store but I’m way to tired  to safely drive

The boys are getting ready to be picked up by my sister and taken for ice cream. This is for their respective birthdays.  It'll just be the E's cause Gavin already had his turn..  Both Elliott and Emmett have been at each other's throats today and the time outside the house, maybe just what the doctor ordered.  I know it's what my doctor ordered... 😁  I still have few errands to run but I'm too exhausted to be driving at this point.   When they leave, I'm going do what I can to get my second wind and pull it together. I have to see how I'm feeling.. 

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Some days I’m just able to cope better

It's been a pretty decent morning so far.  The kids are home from school today as a result of excessive heat conditions in a school without cooling capabilities.  The boys were pleasantly surprised, although Elliott was upset a little bit because he wanted to go to school.  They settled in nicely and are playing Minecraft together.   Lizze is at a doctor's appointment and I've been straightening up. All the boys have been medicated, including Gavin who will soon go to bed in order to sleep off his morning medications.   While I'm completely overwhelmed, I'm not doing too bad this morning.  Being overwhelmed is pretty much a default setting anymore and there are just some days that I seem to cope better. Today happens to be one of those…

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Sometimes it’s really hard to live with my special needs child

Gavin was in rare form today. I love him and would do anything for him but there are times it's just really hard to live with him.  He would not stop talking the entire day.  It felt like he just kept going on and on, without any reprieve. Lizze and I got to the point where we had to simply say stop talking. Even that didn't work because he'd be right back at it a few minutes later.  He went on about his missions, his games and it was extremely repetitive. The weird part is that everytime he would tell us something, it was like he was telling us for the first time. That's not uncommon for him to get like this when he's manic.  He did the same thing…

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The most unexpected thing happened tonight

Tonight while Lizze and I were watching Supernatural on Netflix, I got a text message that I've only ever received during the winter.   It was a notification that school will be closed tomorrow. It also appears that school will also be closed on Friday as well but there's some conflicting information on that.   The text came in at 10pm and said school would be closed today and tomorrow.  Assuming that most people would see the message in the morning, it would seem that Thursday and Friday are cancled.   Apparently though, there was a teach who posted on Class Dojo that classes would resume on Friday.  Since school was being called off due to excessive heat, it doesn't make sense to cancel Thursday and not Friday as well…

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