autism

Thirty-Two and a Half Winks

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Things were quiet at our house last night, mercifully.

Okay, so we kinda took things into our own hands.  The doctor had okayed, once upon a time, the occasional use of Benedryl to knock the Monster out, and let’s be honest – he needs the sleep as much as we do.  It’s not good for us to be getting up every few hours because of his screaming, and at a certain point, giving him seriously large doses of melatonin’s going to not be doing us any favors.  (Plus, I imagine he’ll build up a tolerance to it.)  So last night, we medicated him – i.e., I ground up some and snuck it into some applesauce, and gave it to him as a treat after dinner – and he went to bed.

And then I spent most of the night worrying because of how quiet he was. *sigh* Continue reading →

Meltdown Mayhem

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So anyone who follows my Twitter feed will know that we’ve been having a problem of late with the Monster having more meltdowns than usual, if that wasn’t obvious from yesterday’s post.  He’s been up several of the preceding nights… and it’s honestly been worse during the day.

Of late, he’s been obsessing about riding in the car.  I don’t know what’s brought it about, but he’s been insisting more and more on getting in the car for a bit, and being taken for a ride before bed.  And then lately, it’s turned into a constant thing – we get out of the car, come inside, and he wants another car ride. Continue reading →

Disorderly Sleep

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The Monster’s been awful about his sleeping.

Now, this isn’t a surprise to us when we’re not at home.  He’s routinely been bad about sleeping when we’re in a hotel, to the point that I’m not getting much rest when we’re away from home, and we’re hating life about traveling.  We’ve come to the conclusion – confirmed through my working a couple of very weird shifts or getting up for my morning runs – that he’s actually waking… and we’re not hearing him being up.

That changed, in the last few weeks. Continue reading →

Fight the Power!

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I was going to write something more uplifting today, but…

Well, between the comments here and on our local Autism Parents group on Facebook, there was the question of what can be done to “Fight the Man”, as it were.  So, in the interest of offering up some tips that we either already knew or learned in the most recent process: Continue reading →

Reflections On The Process

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And even with the outcome of the Monster’s IEP process for SY 2015-2016, I’m still very upset.

Look, the fact that it took this much fighting to get to this point, when there is so much evidence of the fact that he’s needed more help all along, tells me that the system is absolutely, positively broken.  The law requires that students with disabilities get a “Free and Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE), and according to national standards, Maryland is “meeting requirements”.  But there’s something that’s missed in the midst of all of this – the Monster is only getting the help he needs because my wife and I dug our heels in and fought. Continue reading →

This Year’s Finish Line

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IEPAnd now, the explanation for why I’ve been so quiet.

Two months ago, I last posted about the IEP process (see IEP Year Four) and where it had gotten to… and then I promptly got very, very quiet about the process.  Yes, other things happened in the meantime – my wife and I went on vacation, and then I went off to curling trials, but my posting hadn’t come back up to normal frequency.

That’s because things went absolutely sideways after our last IEP meeting. Continue reading →

Yes, But Where Has All The Posting Gone?

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Just thought I’d pop my head up here for a moment.

Many of you are probably wondering why I’ve suddenly gone so very, very dark in my posting – not that I was posting a lot of late before the last few weeks.

We’re in the midst of trying to get the Monster’s IEP straightened out before the new school year begins in about five weeks.  (Yes, you read that right.  We’re still in the middle of the IEP process, with school starting on August 31st.  The Monster’s last IEP expired in March.)  Couple that with a ton of work-based stuff for me, and it’s just been a little hectic for me to think about how to best censor myself so I’m not saying things I shouldn’t as we’re preparing for the IEP meetings.

I promise I’ll have something meaningful/deep to write later this week, after the Monster’s latest IEP meeting on Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, to all my fellow special-needs parents out there – keep fighting the good fight.

Pushing the Agenda

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Long time readers know that I’m hardly shy when it comes to politics.  I’ve had lawn signs since I’ve had a yard to put them in, and I’ve grown up with my family knowing politicians, or being involved in issues…

So we’re already into the 2016 electoral cycle, as it would seem, and I of course am already getting requests for money from campaigns. Continue reading →