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 I desperately need a nap
My thoughts

I desperately need a nap

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 me explain.

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February 18, 2018
Read more about the article Being a Special Needs parent has been so heartbreaking recently
My thoughts

Being a Special Needs parent has been so heartbreaking recently

I write a great deal about being an Autism and Special Needs Parent. I've done this for close to a decade now and I don't plan on quiting anytime soon. There's a tremendous need for awareness and by sharing our story, it helps others to understand. One of the things I'm struggling with right now has to do with Gavin, my 18 year old with many serious Special Needs. His needs are both of the physical and emotional variety. The most pressing matter at the moment is in regards to his physical health. Gavin has several life threatening health problems and they are very consuming for me as a parent. Currently, Gavin has been having issues with his blood, more specifically, the cell counts in his blood. In a nutshell,…

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February 17, 2018
Read more about the article Praying I wake up to good news
Gavin / My thoughts

Praying I wake up to good news

We never got Gavin's lab results and I'm struggling with that tonight. His numbers have gone from dangerously low to sort of okay and back to dangerous in a matter of days. There's a chance it was lab error but which one was in error? Was it the sorta better results or the dangerously low results? This is the question I've been asking myself since last week. The only way to have a better idea of which is accurate is to add more data to the equation. If these results come back and his numbers are low, we know that it's likely correct. If they come back sorta okay, we know that will likely be correct. The more data points we can add, the better picture we have of what's…

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February 16, 2018
Read more about the article Whatever makes him smile
Emmett John / Family Pets / Ferrets / My thoughts

Whatever makes him smile

Things are looking good going into another four day weekend. Yup, that's right. Another four day weekend is upon us. Lizze isn't feeling well but it's because of the weather and fibromyalgia. Thank God we don't seem to have flu or anything like that going around. I don't mean to minimize what she's going through because she's absolutely miserable. I was just clarifing that it's nothing contagious. Fibromyalgia is a bitch and it's hard to wrap your brain around something that can't be seen or quantifed. I assure you, the pain is real, even if you can see it with your eyes. The boys and I are going to bathe the ferrets tonight and clean out their pen. Emmett's super excited because we have a new shampoo to use. Whatever…

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February 15, 2018
Read more about the article There’s way too much shit to worry about as a special needs parent
Clozapine / Gavin / Medication Management / My thoughts

There’s way too much shit to worry about as a special needs parent

I've been playing a very frustrating game of phone tag with the pharmacy this afternoon. I need to make sure they either look out for a fax from the lab or call and have it faxed over because Gavin needs his refill tomorrow. I cannot stress enough that Clozapine is the most tightly controlled medication in the United States for a reason. You do not fuck with this medication and it has to be taken seriously. The fucking stress that we experience simply because of this goddamn medication is inexplicable. I also reached out to his doctor and asked that they immediately email with the results of his his labs because I'd like to sleep tonight. They do that anyway but I feel better reminding them. They know how serious…

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February 15, 2018