Autism, Aspergers, Rob Gorski,Special Needs Parenting, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Fibromyalgia,

Category Archive: Family

Mar 11 2013

Conquering cabin fever with a trip to the playground

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On Sunday, we took the boys to the playground to get some wiggles out.  The weather was unseasonably nice and we took advantage of it. 

The boys had fun and so did Lizze and I. 

Lizze mostly took pictures but she was able to push Emmett on the swing for a little bit.  He loved that.  Sunday was one of those days where Lizze needed a cane to help her walk.

She did awesome and so did the kids.  We did however,  miss Gavin being there.  Elliott made it a point to share that with us. 

Unfortunately, even if Gavin were there, his health wouldn’t allow for him to play. :-(

On a happier note, check out some of the pictures I snapped while we were out having fun.  :-)

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Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/03/11/conquering-cabin-fever-with-a-trip-to-the-playground-3/

Dec 01 2012

The story of Sam and Dean

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As you know, Elliott has been wanting a kitten in the worst way imaginable.  He used to have a cat and few years ago named Ducky.  We had to say goodbye to Ducky because he was very aggressive and Elliott was getting hurt. 

As much as he loved Ducky, he was equally scared of him as well.

When the whole idea of another cat came up, Lizze and I were both like oh hell no. However, after my near death experience with mouse in my bathroom last week, I had a change of heart.

Anyway,  for most of our lives together, Lizze and I have always had 3 cats and 1 or 2 dogs. 

Cleo has been an only cat for a few years and isn’t exactly the best moucer.  So I quietly began my search for a cat.  My preference has always been siamese cats.  I used to have one unto it was struck my lighting and killed a few years back.

So I found this ad in the local paper for siamese kittens and I called.

I eventually was put in contact with a very nice Amish lady, as she called herself. She is a breeder of siamese cats and had several male kittens left.  She was willing to part with them for $75 each. However I explained our situation and that we simply couldn‘t afford that.

I thanked her for her time and moved past the idea. 

About a week later I get a phone call and it’s this same Amish lady. She had talked to her family and they decided that they wanted to give us the kitten. She explained that people had helped her family before and now she wanted to help ours. 

Lizze and I decided to take her up on her offer and we all headed south, deep into beautiful Amish country. 

Upon our arrival, it was already dark. I was greater by a nice lady who took me out to the barn to show me that kitten.

When she brought out this little cage, it had not one, but two pure breed siamese kittens.
She said that I should take both of them and before I could politely decline her generous offer,  she explained her story.

Apparently, she lost her husband to a tragic farming accident.  The anniversary of his death was January 1st. She said that the whole community was there for her and her kids. She couldn‘t repay that kindness but she could instead show us kindness. She then added that her husband would want her to do this and it was a way to honor his memory.

What do you say to that?

She was very sincere and this was really important to her.

Long story short, we came home with two kittens instead of the one.  It has worked out for the best though.

We named the boys Sam and Dean after the characters in Supernatural.  The reason for that is because the smallest kitten was very protective of the bigger one, just like Dean is with his brother Sam in the show.

Elliott and Emmett are both happy, as is Lizze, despite her concerns about this.  She’s a huge cat person and hopefully she’ll find herself a bit more relaxed with the beautiful purring kittens. 

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This little guy hiding inside an old speaker is Sam.

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This is Elliott’s cat, Dean. 

Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/12/01/the-story-of-sam-and-dean/

Nov 20 2012

Hating the Holidays

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Perhaps I’m alone in my feelings, but just in case, I thought I would put this out there.

All of my life, I’ve always loved the holidays.

I loved seeing family and friends that I haven’t seen in awhile.  I loved the atmosphere and feeling of togetherness.  I was also quite fond of all the lights, sounds and smells that come with the holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Now I have a family, a special needs family and everything has changed, at least for me.

You see, all the things that I loved so dearly about the holidays, my family can’t cope with. The reason for this is that my wife and all three of our boys are all on the #Autism spectrum.

Basically, the holidays, in the more traditional form, are an all out assault on their senses.  The lights, sounds, smells and crowds of people lead to sensory overload.  This in turn leads to an innate need to purge, otherwise known as a meltdown, not to be confused with a tantrum.

It never fails that no matter how hard we try to minimize exposure to things that could be considered overstimulating, it just never works.

This really takes most of the pleasure out of the holidays. 

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I mean, how fun can it be if everyone is miserable?

The only thing we have found that works is avoidance. Avoidance is the actual of avoiding the holidays. You can also think of it as running away but that makes it sound worse than what it is. 

What we really try to do is keep the excitement to a minimum.

We don’t decorate with bright lights.  We use an artificial Christmas tree to avoid the migraine inducing smell of pine.

Last but not least, we try to avoid going anywhere, especially if it will be loud or crowded.

We disguise the fact that we are avoiding the holidays by saying that we are starting new traditions. However, the truth is, we’re just avoiding the side effects of everything festive.

Our success tends to vary from moderate to complete failure.

How do you handle the holidays in your family?

Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/11/20/hating-the-holidays/

Oct 27 2012

@Sprint is becoming too unreliable

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The boys arrived home just a few minutes ago.  I was however, distressed to learn that Emmett woke up and wanted to come home about 2am this morning.  My mother tried calling both my phone and Lizze’s phone.  However, the calls went straight to voicemail and never rang through to our phone. 

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I would like to thank @Sprint for still not addressing the network issues we are still experiencing. 

I don’t expect perfection and I understand that there will be dropped calls.  However, things are becoming way too unreliable and now my kids are paying the price. I appreciate the replacement phones but they aren’t any better.

Emmett was crying and my parents couldn’t get a hold of us because our phones weren’t receiving any calls.  That’s something that really upsets me. 

Emmett ended up being fine and went back to sleep but that makes more difference to me. 
@Sprint, please fix the network and please make this right with us.  The replacement phones are working any better.  :-(

Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/10/27/sprint-is-becoming-too-unreliable/

Oct 21 2012

@AngryBirds, #Autism and the imagination

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I posted about this before but I wanted to share this because I’m really having fun and so is Emmett.

Elliott got an Angry Birds game while he was in the Hamptons this past summer.

Emmett has sorta taken it over and Elliott’s been really good about that.  Emmett and I spent many afternoons building our own levels and using our imaginations. 

For something as simple as this game is,  it really is a lot of fun. 

We take turns building levels and flinging the Angry Birds at the egg stealing, green piggies. 

I would highly recommend this game as it will pass the time, encourage use of your imagination and have you spending time with your kids.  :-)

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Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/10/21/angrybirds-autism-and-the-imagination/

Oct 18 2012

Reunions

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I’ve mentioned before that my little sister had moved out to the East Hamptons to work as a physical therapist for the rich and famous.

He just moved back home because she missed the family too much and couldn’t stand to be away.

This morning, Lizze and my sister Kate, reunited after quite some time.  Lizze and Kate are pretty close and she was greatly missed while she was gone. 

Lizze was so happy, she was crying and I caught the moment. 

It was so nice to see Lizze crying tears of happiness for once.  :-)

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Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/10/18/reunions/

Oct 07 2012

Blowing out the candles

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Today,  we all, with the exception of Gavin, had dinner at my parents house to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. Gavin was still at Lizze’s parents house so he didn’t make it. 

I will say that it was a very pleasant, tantrum free afternoon. 

We so rarely go anywhere and it was really nice to be able to get away and not have any problems. 

The boys very enthusiastically helped Grandpa open his presents. They also helped my Dad blow out his candles as well.  They did come home a bit on the overstimulated side but they don’t have school in the morning so I think it was worth it. 

This was also the first time ever that Emmett was allowed to eat what everyone else was eating.  That was pretty cool. :-)

Happy Birthday Dad. 

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For those wondering,  that is an ice cream cake made out of ice cream sandwiches.  Simply brilliant.  :-)

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Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/10/07/blowing-out-the-candles/

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