Is this the start of concerning behavioral problems?

We've been noticing some behavioral changes in Gavin over the last twenty-four to forty-eight hours. They were more subtle at first but have become more obvious as time passes. One of the things we've noticed is Gavin's memory is worsening. It could be nothing or it could be something. He's forgetting how to do some very basic things like setting up his IVIG infusion. He's been doing this for years but yesterday, couldn't remember some of the basic steps. This leads me to my next concern, frustration threshold. Yesterday, Emmett made a joke that was very benign. He asked Gavin what time it was and when he said 5 PM, Emmett sang the five dollar foot long theme from Subway. It's sort of an inside joke and Gavin can get…

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Will we have to cancel our trip to Florida?

As I'm watching the news today, and it appears that Hurricane Irma may create problems for our planned trip to Florida at the end of the month. Current predictions indicate that Irma will be at least as strong as Harvey was when it impacts Florida and the Carolinas sometime next week. If this proves to be true, that's horrible for the people in its path and our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in danger. At the same time, this may force us to cancel or at least reschedule our trip to have Gavin's wish granted in Florida. I don't want to make the trip if Florida is going to be dealing with anything remotely similar to the people of Houston are dealing with. I'm going to speak with…

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A fragile peace accord has been shattered

The fragile peace accord that has been maintaining the calm and quiet in our house has been shattered. Elliott and Emmett are at each other's throats as a result. Understanding the issue at hand is an important step towards understanding the fragile peace in our house. Much like many others out there with Autism, my kids are drawn to things like tablets and technology. It's calming for them and it keeps them engaged. We are working to broaden the way they experience the world, without the use of their tablets. My kids are plagued by sensory issues, and if you've been a reader for a little while, you're likely albrotherready aware of jowls bad it can be sometimes. One of the issues I don't think I've mentioned before has to…

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Getting our ducks in a row

The kids are getting really excited about leaving for Florida. They're starting to sorta make plans for our time down there. Emmett's big plan is to avoid killer bees. That's a pretty good plan if you ask me. lol I'm figuring out the exact times of everything related to travel from Ohio to Florida. We have less than one month to get this all our ducks in a row.

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Couldn’t have asked for a better day

It was a pretty unusual anniversary for Lizze and I. The boys let us sleep in and my beautiful wife let me take a nice mid-morning nap. ☺ We had a quiet morning and it was nice. No one was fighting or causing trouble by pushing the others buttons. Everyone seemed content and that doesn't happen very often in a house with three kids on the Autism Spectrum. lol About mid-afternoon, we took the boys to my parents house and then went to visit Lizze's Dad at the hospital. We didn't stay long because he was exhausted, but it was nice to see him doing so well. ☺ After that, we ended up back at my parents house for the rest of the day. My Dad and the boys were…

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I really screwed the pooch on this one

I just realized I made a pretty major banking error. I was telling Lizze that we were doing much better this month than I thought we were. It didn't seem right but I checked, double and triple checked. This was very positive because it was going to help us get ready for our trip. As we were talking about it, my stomach sank because I realized why this had been bothering me. I paid a very large bill to a major utility and forgot about it. Between Gavin's medication change, planning for our trip and a major family emergency, I completely forgot. I had correctly tracked everything but that. For whatever reason, that payment hasn't posted yet and it's been quite a few days. I take full responsibility for this…

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It’s been 14 years today

I'm super tired, no surprise I'm sure. This will be short and sweet, I promise. I wanted to take a minute and share that today is our fourteenth anniversary. Lizze and I have been married since 2003 and still going strong. Life hasn't always been perfect, and neither has our marriage. We've learned a great deal about ourselves and each other along the way. Being special needs parents isn't an easy job, and it takes one hell of a toll on a marriage. We've had to work extra hard to overcome these challenges. We've learned from our many mistakes and we'll continue to do so into the future. I'm so grateful to have been able to spend all these years with my best friend and I can't wait to spend…

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A MAJOR Gavin update

It's been almost five days since we lowered Gavin's Clozapine to 500 mg/day. Aside from Gavin incessantly talking, I haven't noticed any changes in his behaviors. His Schizophrenic symptoms haven't changed for better or worse. The only things we've been hearing about are body aches and vision problems, but those shouldn't have enough anything to do with this particular change in medication. To be honest, I'd be comfortable dropping him down again before we leave for Florida. We're still going to wait but I don't foresee there being any changes in anything once we do. As I'm thinking about this, the only other concern we have taken place prior to any of these changes. On Tuesday night, Gavin briefed Dr Pattie and I on his latest mission. According to Gavin,…

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