Read more about the article We had a massive, massive meltdown
Elliott / Meltdowns / My thoughts

We had a massive, massive meltdown

It's not been a good morning so far. To start things off on the wrong foot, I stepped funny coming down the stairs and jarred my back. You may recall that I suffered a major back injury many years ago. Most of the time I'm okay and I've adapted to the pain however, it doesn't take much to aggravate it again. I totally succeeded in doing that this morning. I'm in so much pain right now, I feel like I'm going to puke. Once I lay down for a little while, this will hopefully start to improve. To make matters that much more stressful, Elliott had a massive, massive meltdown this morning. He's really struggling emotionally and today was in regards to not wanting to take his morning meds. He…

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February 22, 2018
Read more about the article So far so good-ish
My thoughts

So far so good-ish

It's days like today when I feel like everything is catching up to me. I'm exhausted and feel like I could sleep all day. It's not a good idea to give into that desire to sleep and instead, continue pushing forward. Lizze has an appointment this afternoon and we have family therapy tonight as well. I'm hoping that the rest of the day goes relatively smoothly as well because I don't have the will to survive things if it doesn't.. ☺

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February 21, 2018
Read more about the article I need your help. Please take a second and read this post
Announcements / My thoughts

I need your help. Please take a second and read this post

I've been working to raise awareness for people with Autism and their families for over a decade. I do so by sharing our story in a very open, honest and transparent way. I've also been providing a free support forum for families to join and seek comfort, guidance and advice from other people who've been there. While the My Autism Help Forums have been down since I moved to a new server. I've created a new, smaller, easier to use support forum and it can be found here. It's totally free and all you have to do is register to this blog to gain complete access. You can do that in the right side bar or the footer at the bottom of this page. Now comes the point where I…

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February 21, 2018
Read more about the article I love him but he’s driving me crazy
Gavin / My thoughts

I love him but he’s driving me crazy

We're off to a good start this morning. The only downside is that the boys school clothes didn't dry overnight but we still have time. Gavin is really off this morning and I'm not sure what's going on with him. He's ready to go get his bloodwork done but I'm having to remind him to eat breakfast. If you know anything about Gavin is that he's extremely food motivated and never has to be reminded to eat. I need him to eat now because we won't be home again until lunchtime. I'm not in the mood to listen to him complain about being hungry, simply because he didn't eat breakfast. This is so weird because Gavin is very ridged and has to eat at certain times or he doesn't know…

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February 20, 2018
Read more about the article He’s 18 years old on the outside but not on the inside
Gavin / Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

He’s 18 years old on the outside but not on the inside

Gavin's having a rough time today. He's eighteen years old now but can't be treated or managed like a typical, freshly minted adult. Unfortunately, Gavin's cognitive ability is significantly lower than his chronological age. Until we have his new NeuroPsych testing done this summer, we won't know exactly how much he's regressed since the last time he was tested, but his doctors have pinned his emotional age at around eight or nine years of age. That's a ten year difference between his developmental age and his chronological age. As he gets older, it becomes more and more obvious that he is struggling. Today he was taking out the recycling (supervised of course) and his lack of ability to problem solve was on full display. We have recycling collected in a…

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February 19, 2018
Read more about the article Why it’s important for special needs parents to find something positive in each day
Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

Why it’s important for special needs parents to find something positive in each day

When you're a special needs parent, it's quite common to feel overwhelmed. If you did a keyword search in this blog, you'd find countless times I've used the word overwhelmed to describe how I'm feeling. Being overwhelmed isn't something that's easy to deal with because of its very nature. When I'm overwhelmed, I sorta feel like I'm being crushed under the weight of all that's going on in my life. In that moment, I'm unable to carry the weight and no longer able to even process anything. It's kinda like a computer bogging down because it's doing too much at one time. During these moments, it's not uncommon to feel a sense of dread or dispair. It's important that you not give into these feelings. It's hard for people to…

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February 19, 2018
Read more about the article Do you ever feel like life has just kicked your ass?
My thoughts

Do you ever feel like life has just kicked your ass?

It's been a long weekend and it's still not over yet cause there's no school today. There's not been anything catastrophic that's happened in the last few days but I feel like I had my ass kicked up one side of the road and down the other. Truthfully, Lizze and I are both on edge but there isn't one single thing that's responsible for our stress. It's a combination of things and it creates tension between us that we don't even realize is there until we have a disagreement. It's nothing major or even worth mentioning other than to illustrate how stress impacts us both. I know Gavin is wearing on me but so is everyday life. I'm absolutely exhausted, overwhelmed and truly feeling like life is kicking my ass.…

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February 19, 2018
Read more about the article Feeling guilty because I’m frustrated with my Special Needs son
Gavin / My thoughts

Feeling guilty because I’m frustrated with my Special Needs son

Today was full of ups and downs. If you know anything about being a special needs parent, you're likely aware that it's often a roller-coaster of emotions. Frankly, this is one of the reasons life is so hard because the ride never stops. Elliott and Emmett have been Elliott and Emmett all weekend. They're exhausting but we've managed thus far. When it comes to Gavin, that's a different story. He's really struggling and it's painfully apparent that life is not cutting him any slack. I'm going to be straight with you guys because the only way I can help is to be honest and transparent. With that being said, Gavin's driving me crazy. He's requiring more and more effort as time goes on. I know that sounds bad but let…

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February 18, 2018