Read more about the article The 2 things that made Gavin’s day so awesome
Gavin / My thoughts

The 2 things that made Gavin’s day so awesome

On a pretty cool note, Gavin's having a great afternoon. We did his IVIG infusion first thing in the morning. That gets it out of the way and makes sure that nothing comes up that could interfere. He slept off his morning meds and then went to lunch with my Dad. He wanted to take Gavin out to lunch for his birthday. They were out of town last week and so today worked out for everyone. After lunch, my Dad took him along and let Gavin help him on a job. My Dad owns a painting company and loves having the kids along sometimes to help out.  ☺ I should mention that there were some problems during the infusion but I'll explain that later. Overall, I think Gavin's had an…

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January 23, 2017
Read more about the article 3 things that have me very worried about my son
Gavin / My thoughts

3 things that have me very worried about my son

It's been a long weekend for The Autism Dad family. The boys are struggling in the sleep department and subsequently, so am I.  I've been too tired to write as frequently as I like to. As my first post of the week, I want to make sure that bring you up to speed on some things going on with Gavin that have me very worried. The following concerns are not in any particular order. Gavin's memory is getting worse. It used to be just his short term memory that was problematic but even his long term memory is beginning to suffer. In fact, his short term memory is getting even worse than it's been. He's now struggling with very simple, one step tasks and is often unable to complete them…

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January 23, 2017
Read more about the article Talking safety and peace of mind for special needs families
My thoughts / Vivint Gives Back

Talking safety and peace of mind for special needs families

As many of you know by now, I'm working very closely with Vivint, and the Vivint Gives Back Project. I'm also intimately involved with Guardian Locate, and we are partnered with Project Lifesaver International. This puts me in a unique position to help your voices be heard. I would like to know specifically, what you think you need to make your lives easier in regards to the battle of keeping your kids from letting themselves out of the house and wandering off or getting into things that could be harmful. What kinds of things would help you more easily keep an eye on your kids and frankly, sleep better at night? While technology can't fix everything, it can make things easier to manage. I'd like to know what you would…

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January 23, 2017
Read more about the article As an #Autism parent, do you ever just feel like crying? 
My thoughts

As an #Autism parent, do you ever just feel like crying? 

I fully realize I'm a grown man but I'm so far over the edge today that I feel like breaking down. As a father to three boys with varying special needs, but all with Autism, I'm in over my head on most days. I feel like I'm being crushed under the weight of the load I have to carry. The boys have been having a rough day and that means I'm having a rough day as well. Elliott has been struggling quite a bit as well, especially in the sleep department. Rather than trying to repeatedly justify our struggle with sleep issues, I going to ask that you simply take me at my word that were doing everything we can to work through these issues. Sleep has been placed on…

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January 22, 2017
Read more about the article #Autism and Issues with Sleep are Killing Me
Elliott / Emmett John / My thoughts / Sleep Issues

#Autism and Issues with Sleep are Killing Me

This is going to be very short and to the point.  I'm fucking exhausted. Both Elliott and Emmett are awake and show no signs of slowing down. It's currently 2 am and my body just wants to shutdown. Elliott's not been sleeping well at all since the bullying thing started up again. It may just be coincidence but that's just when this particular sleep issue began. Emmett was actually sleeping until he woke up at midnight to use the bathroom and realized Elliott was awake. I basically had a choice of making them go to their rooms and try to sleep, while I did the same or just cut my losses and move to the living room. I chose the later because it had the best chance of sleep. Elliott…

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January 22, 2017
Read more about the article He’s driving me f@#king crazy today
Bipolar Disorder / Gavin / Manic / My thoughts / Schizoaffective Disorder

He’s driving me f@#king crazy today

Let me start things off by reminding everyone how much I love my kids.  I've got tons of new readers and I just want to be clear on that because of the tone of this post. That said, and with my profession of unconditional love for my children, here's the deal. They are driving me fucking crazy. More specifically, Gavin’s driving me fucking crazy. The other two are actually doing okay today. Gavin is having a really tough day, in several areas of his life. Veteran readers will probably already guess that a large part of this is in regards to his constant, incessant need to talk to me. No one has this much to say and neither does Gavin for that matter. He's just talking about totally random things…

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January 21, 2017
Read more about the article My son’s broken heart kept him up last night
Elliott / My thoughts

My son’s broken heart kept him up last night

It was a rough night and a tough day. Elliott was unable to fall asleep until well after 2 am. He was very preoccupied with something that kept his brain churning throughout the night.  The most impactful thing he's stressed out about is the death of my parents dog, Bailey.. That was a couple of months ago now but Elliott's still heartbroken.  He won't talk about it and doesn't like to even admit that he's as upset as he is. Last night, he spent a lot of time drawing a pictures, which I'm allowed to share and a beautiful slideshow that he's wanting to remain private.  I didn't even know he knew how to make a slideshow but it made me tear up because it was very clear how much…

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January 21, 2017
Read more about the article How I’m dealing with my son’s bully
Bullying / Elliott / My thoughts

How I’m dealing with my son’s bully

I've been largely absent the last day or so because I've been busy. Most everything can wait until a bit later today, but I did want to talk briefly about the bullying situation at school. I met with the school this afternoon and had a thirty-minute discussion about what's going on with Elliott and this bully. While I'm not happy at all, I will say that since I know how to handle this and who to talk to, the process is much easier. The person I spoke with today is very genuine, and I truly believe that she's as horrified about this as I am. In fact, she may even be more upset than I am and I'm pissed off. We decided that she would meet with Elliott on Monday…

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January 21, 2017