The #Autism Meet and Greet

hi my name is trudy i have a 5 year old daughter that just got diagnosed back in feb with high functioning autism decreased fine motor skills and sever sensory processing disorder. This is so all new to me i follow your blogs alot.. 

Hello, I'm Christy.  My husband Tim and I have a 7 yr. old son named Nicolas.  Nicolas was diagnosed at age 5 with ADHD, then at age 6 with Epilepsy and just this past May diagnosed as PDD-NOS.  We aren't entirely new to the Autism world as our niece is PDD-NOS as well.  It amazes me that both children have the same diagnoses but to different degrees. My mom is raising my niece and recommended the Autism group on Facebook and that is were I heard of this blog for the first time.  I have enjoyed reading what I have so far.  It helps to read other peoples stories and hear the ways that others are coping or what treatments they have tried! I look forward to readin more posts!

Well this is late but here goes:I'm Joy & I have 2 daughters, ages 8 & 10. I am married & currently pregnant with baby #3. Both my girls are severe ADHD & my oldest Olivia was born deaf (is now aided with cochlear implanted devices) and has been diagnosed with high functioning autism, PTSD, extreme anxiety, & a few disabilities dealing specifically with mathematics. The Asperger's & the Mathematics Disabilities are new diagnosis for us. I am not foreign to special needs children in this area due to my few years working in Oklahoma's low-income special needs bracket raising the bar for early intervention for not only suspected autism, but also hearing loss & speech/language delays. I was a Special Needs Advocate before I ever knew I was a Special Needs Parent. Kind of a strange twist for me.I read your blog on a semi-regular basis & despite yours being boys & mine being a girl, the end result is pretty much the same. Olivia tantrums to the point of needed restraint. She argues with everyone about everything, she is sensitive & impatient & the fear of the unknown or pain sets her off into a place that I just can't reach her at. Day to day I never know what I'm going to get with her & it's forever exhausting. Sometimes I just want my daughter back...and when she's here, she's amazing, but when she's gone...it's just sad.

Thanks for the blog!

 @AlanaJulianaSheldahl @AngelEvansBrown @Batty @Carol Stout @OnyxPanthyr @SarahBolier @jjean3940 @reonyea @rmagliozzi 

It's really nice to meet all of you. Some of you I already know and others I'm meeting for the first time. 🙂

Hi, I'm Pip. I have no children yet, but I do have an Aspie big brother who only got his diagnosis in his late twenties - this astounds me now I know a bit about autism because I'm pretty sure I could have diagnosed him. He's 34 now. Having his diagnosis hasn't particularly affected him, but it helps me to remember to be patient when he perseverates, or when he completely fails to notice a queue is there and walks straight to the front (although I will never point THAT out again because he was really upset and I felt like a criminal). 

I have moderate anxiety and mild depression. My fiance has severe anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation and a tentative diagnosis of Bipolar. We have a dog named Floyd who I've mentioned before - he has no mental health issues, yay!

Hi--I'm Karen.  I have 5 children (all have the flavors of autism or Aspergers), 2 girls who carry ASD and OCD diagnoses from childhood (1 girl with auto-immune, PTSD, Anxiety PD as well-- and the other girl with depression + bi-polar) and 3 boys who are ASD, 1 boy has Tourettes + depression + suicidal ideation, another boy has borderline personality disorder, and the last has severe depression.  I have Aspergers and auto-immune problems and a batchelor degree in English and Special Ed and Autism MEd.  I'm divorced from the children's dad and he is totally out of the picture.  I have 2 children living at home, 1 in a residential placement, 1living successfully on his own and working fulltime and one bouncing from friend to friend but working fulltime.   I taught high school until my older daughter developed dermatomyositis and went on chemo 7 years ago.  We have a farm and take advantage of the space to have a variety of animals for therapeutic use (horses, rabbits, chickens, ducks, chinchillas, cats and dachshunds).  I have been reading Rob for about a month or so.  I sooooo empathize with Lizzie and Rob and all the trials they are going through!  

I do not have any children with Autism but I work in a ministry at my church that is trying to reach out to special needs families. For too long these families have felt unwelcome in churches and we're trying to change that, at least in our church. I enjoy reading about your family because I learn so much about what day-to-day life is like for families living with, and loving, special needs children.  Keep up the good work! You're not only helping other families; you're educating the rest of us as well.

I am a mother of two boys, one with mild autism and both have autoimmune disease. You might hear me mention they have PANDAS in some of my comments, and that's what it is, an autoimmune disease that affects their brains (which is triggered by strep, and similar to rheumatic fever). I also have autoimmune thyroid disease and sensory processing disorder. One of my children has 6 food allergies, so I am often obsessed with figuring out what he can eat and will eat.  I love reading Rob's blog and it has helped me alot dealing with our own medical challenges and autism. Every parent of an autistic child  should read Rob's blog.

Thank you all so much for introducing yourselves. I'm honored to meet you all and really appreciate you sharing a bit of your lives. 🙂

Hi my name is Alana and I'm married with four teenagers.  My 18 y.o. daughter has high funcitoning autism and other mental health issues, some significant developmental delays, but is also extremely intelligent in some ways. My 16 year old daughter also has Asperger's syndrome, as does my 14 year old son.  These middle two kids are much closer to "normal" and will be OK in life, long term I think.  My youngest daughter, age 13 has some sensory issues but is otherwise "neurotypical".  I have auto-immune illness and fibromyalga, which I've noticed a large percentage of autism moms seem to have.  I  wonder what the connection is.  There MUST be one. 

I'm very blessed that Rob is so open about the difficulties of life with spectrum kids.  I wish I'd had a diagnosis for what was going on when my kids (especially my oldest) was small. 

Hi, I'm Angel and I stumbled across "lost and tired" one day after getting my son's diagnosis and frantically searching for someone to relate to and for someone who shared my pain and I love reading all the posts..I feel like I know Rob and Lizze although I have never met them:) We have 4 kids and 3 boys and 2 girl. All my boys are on the spectrum somewhere:) My 8 yo is unofficially Aspergers and 2 yo diagnosed Autistic and my 19 month old PDD. My daughter is " normal" as normal as she can be in this house..LOL But we survive and I thank God for my 4 blessing daily! My husband works from home which is a huge blessing as I dont know how I would survive without his help plus we also homeschool and that takes some planning but all in all we are learning to cope with all the sensory challenges, dietary restrictions and obsessions:) Thanks to Rob for the transparency and encouragement! 🙂

I'm Jenny- found Rob's site about 3 months ago, check it multiple times a day :-).  I have 2 little boys- Jack, 5 has asperger's and Nate, 2, had moderate to severe autism.  I am over on www.jackandnatesmom.blogspot.com.  I love reading Rob's posts- I get ideas for my kids, but more than anything, I get the sense that I am not alone.  And that is HUGE!

Hi : ) My name is Sarah and I have 2 boys, my oldest Colton has autism and reading your posts DAILY I can relate to a lot of things that go on in your house 🙂 It is nice to know you are not the only one and there are others out there who want to help and share their stories 🙂 Thank you!!

Hi!  Jennifer here.  🙂

I found Rob's site from Android Central shortly after I got my first smartphone, Sprint Epic 4G, and put on his midNIGHT rom (wow, was that really like a year and a half ago??).  At first, I started reading the blog out of curiosity, but then with the way Rob is so open and honest about what goes on in his family, I grew to care about them.

I have no kids, nor do I plan to, but I love being able to educate myself about many different things.  I have no experience in the special needs community, but Rob has shown me so much and I continue to learn.  This blog is not only important to those in the special needs community.  It also serves as a great educational tool for those of us who dwell outside of it and wish to understand and relate to it.

I wish the Gorskis all the best and will continue to provide what little advice, help, and support I can along the way.

Thanks for opening the doors and letting us become extended family, Rob.  🙂

 @AlanaJulianaSheldahl There definately is a link there, but I don't think in all autistics, just a certain percentage of them. It's an immune mediated autism.  They have already linked immune system problems and inflammation in certain area of the brain to autism. check out the website www.stopcallingitautism.com. There was a researcher at John Hopkins University who found the immune system in the brain of people with autism and other neurological conditions like Multiple Sclerosis is activated. It is called microglial activation. Also, they have discovered mothers can pass on antibodies from their autoimmune disease to their fetuses before they are born.