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'm super excited to start the week, even though that means taking on a Monday. The boys are going back to school and I'm going walking. ☺ I did pretty good in March, especially considering I took a week and a half off during my recovery. I feel pretty good about that. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting things back on track. We have a busy week a head of us as well, and we have a couple trips to Cleveland towards the end of the week. Hope you folks are on the receiving end of good things today. ☺
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…
Just a quick update as to how I'm recovering from oral surgery a week ago. I'll keep this brief, I promise. Last week I had three wisdom teeth removed. I was pretty freaked out about it in the weeks and days leading up to the surgery. I'm pretty sure I drove my wife nuts. Anyway, the surgery was actually a breeze and recovery has been going well. I haven't been in any pain that higher dose motrin couldn't address. I still have most of my pain meds because they simply weren't necessary. The only discomfort I've been in is where the tooth that was impacted had to be dug out. That's still healing and probably will be for a little while. There's good size hole going straight back and it…
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…
It would be really helpful if you could share some ways that someone could help your family. This is a great way to put ideas out there and it's also good practice for those of us who struggle when it comes to asking for help.
Please support my efforts and my family by sharing and visiting http://theautismdad.com/blog often. Every visit literally helps.. ☺