In this very brief, last-minute episode, I share my thoughts on Autism Speaks “Light It Up Blue” campaign. I talk about how Autism Awareness month has lost its meaning and I give you some ideas on how you can help raise awareness in ways that make a difference in peoples lives. Autism Awareness Month should be about people and not money.
I've got a laundry list of medication related updates for you all tonight. We're going to briefly talk about myself, Lizze and Gavin because we've all had very recent changes to medication. Me It makes sense to begin with me, as I'm pretty straightforward. As I mentioned just prior to my oral surgery a little over a week ago, I've decided that I need more help with my depression than I'm currently getting. This help comes in the form of additional medication. I'm not super excited about starting a new medication but I refuse to allow depression to control my life and influence my ability to be a good husband/father. Just so we're clear, I'm not saying that if you're depressed, you can't be a good parent, spouse or partner…
We had a long talk with Gavin about his behavioral choices that have been creating conflict with his brothers. We focused on a few areas:
Many Autism parents don't get breaks very often. Our lives are incredibly stressful because it's 24/7 and sleep is often in short supply. Respite shouldn't be a luxury, it's a necessity but unfortunately, respite is often out of reach or unavailable. My wife and I can go a good while between breaks but we are very lucky to get them. We have very supportive family and that's truly something to be grateful for. We had one such break last night, while all three of the kids were with their grandparents. My wife and I had about 24 hours to ourselves but were too tired to actually take advantage of the time. When the kids are gone, we probably should be playing catch up with things around the house. We probably…
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Well, it's been a pretty long day and it's finally coming to a close. I'm trying to kill about 30 minutes so I can take my motrin before going to bed and I figured I'd post a quick update. There's only three things worth mentioning tonight and both are mostly good news. ☺ First of all, Ruby's surgery went well and she came home the same day. They weren't sure if she'd need to stay overnight but they ended up sending her home mid-afternoon. She's doing well but she's not very happy.. She's got to wear this little tiny cone of shame for the next 12 days. It's almost bigger than she is and she does not like it. She's taking sedatives for the next 5 days to help keep…
We had an early start to the day because Ruby had to be at the vet before 7 AM. She's finally getting fixed this morning. We've been trying to get her fixed for awhile but when we had the money, she was either going into or coming out of heat. Anyway, we dropped her off at 7 AM and while there's a chance we can pick her up at dinner time, she will most likely stay overnight. The boys were worried about her so I wanted to give them a chance to say goodbye, so I woke them up. Elliott went right back to bed, which is exactly what I expected. Emmett insisted on going with me, which is what I expected as well. I'm really hoping that Elliott doesn't…
Gavin had a pretty rough afternoon/evening and it culminated into a decent sized meltdown at therapy tonight. The problem is that Gavin either isn't recognizing or is unwilling to admit he's making mistakes. Mistakes are something that Gavin simply doesn't tolerate, especially in himself. When something happens and we try to point it out to him, he very often will either deny it happened or happened the way it did. He can become very, very upset. We had a situation arise at therapy tonight and it led to a decent sized meltdown. It wasn't a big deal but it was a great example for Dr. Pattie to see, so she can help guide us through it. All that happened was Elliott handed Gavin a cup of goldfish crackers and for…