Is this what a panic attack feels like?

I'm so fucking stressed out today and I'm not sure why. We didn't get off to a good start this morning but there are plenty of mornings like that and I don't feel like this. I'm completely frazzled and don't even want anyone talking to me. It feels like everyone around me is going in slow motion and I'm in a big hurry. This is all on me but I don't know what triggered this. I've only had a few actually anxiety attacks in my life and perhaps this is one of those. Absolutely everything feels insurmountable and there's this overwhelming sense of impending doom or that I forgot something extremely important. I feel like I'm going crazy and my body is shaky. The reality is that I'm depressed, exhausted,…

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We were caught up in #Autism Hell this morning

The boys had a horrible morning. There are some days that as a parent, Autism kicks my ass up one side of the street and down the other. Today is one of those days. Elliott sorta worked through his struggle but Emmett was another story all together. Poor Emmett wouldn't wear a shirt and it took until after 8:30 AM to get him in the car. By that time, they both missed breakfast at school and that only compounded the issue. I think a large part this mornings nightmare was the result of anxiety related to getting his flu short this afternoon. I know that was the case for Elliott as well. Emmett spent all his resources trying to cope with his anxiety surrounding his pending flu short, that he…

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Perhaps you can learn from my mistakes

It's such a fine balance when it comes to telling a child with Autism something that's' going to cause any type of anxiety. It doesn't matter if the anxiety is waiting for a package to show up in the mail or knowing they are getting a flu shot. Speaking to my personal experience, my wife and I try very hard to limit situations like this whenever possible. There are times in which it isn't possible or we make the mistake to saying something a head of time with the goal of preparing them for an upcoming event, either good or bad. We are currently dealing with two kids who are terrified of getting their flu shots. most kids don't like shots but they are a very important part of maintaining…

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Today will be nonstop appointments

It's going to be a crazy chaotic kinda day. The boys go to school in the morning, and I immediately take Gavin for his blood work. From there we head straight to Dr. Reynolds office to follow up on Gavin's labs and decide if we are going to pull the Clozapine. Shortly after we finish up there, we have to pull the boys from school and head to Cleveland for an appointment with their immunologist. Emmett's appointment is a follow-up, as is Gavin and Lizze's. Elliott's is a follow-up as well but with the added issue of his near constant fevers. I'm not sure how that's going to go. After that, all four of them will likely get their flu shots. As I'm not a patient there, I'll be going…

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If I still had hair I’d be ripping it out

I'm getting frustrated because my two sensory sensitive kiddos are not eating anything we have in the house, aside from Goldfish crackers. This is so frustrating because we have a decent amount of food in the house and they won't eat any of it. Last week I spent $200 at the grocery store and for whatever reason, none of it is palatable to them. I should stress that they aren't being difficult for the sake of being difficult. This is the result of sensory processing disorder and I'm not mad at them for this because it isn't their fault. At the same time however, I'm still frustrated and if I had any hair left, I'd be pulling it out. Knowing it's not their fault doesn't necessarily make it any easier…

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Poor Gavin is devastated

Poor Gavin is having a rough morning. He'd been saving up for a $15.00 game on his tablet called Adventures in Mana. On Friday evening, I bought the game for him because he's been such a big help around the house, I felt he deserved a surprise. He was super excited and has been loving the game all weekend. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive but many people were complaining about game breaking bugs. Gavin wasn't worried about that because he liked the game so much. Unfortunately, about an hour ago, he stumbled across one of those game breaking bugs and it definitely breaks the game. He's so upset that he's been in his room crying for almost thirty minutes now. He wants to be left alone so we're respecting his…

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Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder in laymen’s terms

What Is Sensory Processing Disorder? Sensory Processing Disorder is hands down that most frustrating part of being an Autism parent, at least for me. For those unfamiliar with what I'm referring to when I say sensory issues, let me explain. Sensory processing disorder is a condition that is very common in both kids and adults with Autism. What happens is their brains don't properly interpret Sensory input correctly and this can be very problematic for them. Sensory Processing Disorder can impact adults as well. I'm specifically referring to kids because that's where my experience lies. Please don't take that as anything else. Kids with sensory processing disorder are hypersensitive to things like color, sight, sound, light, taste, texture, smells, and especially touch. How these sensitivities impact their lives can and…

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