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

Tag Archive: facebook

May 06 2013

I babble about Social Media and the future of Lost and Tired

I wanted to talk to you about how I’m going to be doing things for a little while.  Let me be a bit more specific.  I want to talk to you about how I’m going to be doing things with my writing. 

Through some miracle, people like listening to what I have to say.  I can’t honestly say why but I’m grateful and amazed nonetheless. 

In order to continue Lost and Tired’s exponential growth, I would need to branch out and embrace more of the available social media.  It’s seems that most people on the Web, in similar positions to me,  focus on one main area. 

For example, some really good friends of mine do amazing things on Facebook or Google+.  They have an enormous following on these platforms and rightfully so.  They’re simply awesome. 

Some people have really successful blogs instead.

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Sure, they may have Facebook or Google+ pages but nothing significant because they choose to focus on their personal blog.

It’s seems that, at least in my experience, you are either really successful in one or the other.

This is where I’m beginning to struggle. 

I have a presence on most of the social media sites but I rarely engage with people on them.  Social media to me, seems to be a method of delivering content to my readers and not so much actually connecting with others. 

I’ll be the first to admit that this isn’t necessarily a positive thing. 

Ideally, I would love to engage with people in multiple arenas. It’s not that I don’t want to have conversations in places other than my site and I’m certainly not intending to be a hermit of sorts, but in truth, I have sorta become hermitish.

I think I just made up a new word.  :-)

It basically comes down to practicality. My blog has always and will always be my priority.  I’m only one person and in reality, I’m stretched really, really thin.

My personal life with my family is always front and center and becoming more and more challenging with each passing day.  Trying to find any kind of balance is quickly approaching the impossible.

I’m also a people pleaser and I want to help every person that asks me for help, and that can be a bit daunting at times.  Their are so many people out there that need help and I can’t possibly help everyone but certainly not for lack of trying. 

There is no practical way for me to continue to do everything that I’m trying to do, especially on my own. 
My site doesn’t generate any income and actually costs a pretty penny to maintain on a monthly basis.  In fact, nothing that I do in this arena brings in a single penny to my family and we are financially destitute right now. 

Why am I telling you this? You know, I’m not really sure.

I sorta went off on a tangent.

Oh, I remember.

Basically, I simply can’t keep up with maintaining an engaging presence in the social media sites anymore.  I tried, I really did.

With my decreased resources, I’m going to be focused on the most important projects to me and the most beneficial to everyone else.  This means I’m going to scale things back a bit for right now.

I’m going to focus on maintaining this blog, first and foremost. 

Secondly, I’m going to continue to build up the My Autism Help forums because once that gets kicking again, I’ll be able to help so many more people.

Helping people is very important to me. 

You may have noticed that I’ve consolidated the URL’s and brought the forums back into the main Lost and Tired site.  This makes things easier for me to manage, with my limited time.

In my opinion and according to all the feedback and awards I receive, the best thing I can do to make the biggest difference, is to do what I do best.  That is sharing my family’s story and my feelings on everything we go through.  Secondly, maintaining the forums helps people to have a safe place to go and connect with others in the Autism and special needs community. 

There are things I have been working on that I haven’t spoken of and can’t just yet. Some are pretty big deals and others things I’m consulting on.  All of these benefit the community I love so much. 

I’m going to be looking for sponsorships for Lost and Tired and I’ll detail that in the near future.  Of anyone’s interested in sponsoring my site and my efforts, let me know.  :-)

That’s basically it. 

I’m going to be scaling back in the social media department and focusing on what I feel is most important and most beneficial to the community. 

I need all your help to spread my family’s story and let people know about the forums. 

I’ve been babbling for far too long so I will let you all go back to whatever you were doing.  :-)


This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-)

Check out my #Autism Awareness Store to find really cool and unique #Autism Awareness Clothing and Accessories, designed by me. ;-)

For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.



Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/05/06/i-babble-about-social-media-and-the-future-of-lost-and-tired/

Apr 24 2013

WTF…… Seriously? Are you friggin kidding me?

OMG, today have been a trying day. 

As you know, Lizze had her appointment with Orthopedics at the Cleveland Clinic this afternoon.  She’s been having problems with her knees for many years, steaming from a major injury during years as a gymnast. 

We are in desperate need of a break from bad news. 

It’s kinda like bad news and good news are divorced parents that can’t seem to ever come to terms with anything.  They completely ignore the visitation schedule that states that we want to see the good news along with the bad.

Unfortunately, that’s not what happens in our lives. 

So here’s what went down today. I swear I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried. :-(

This morning, Lizze got another email from her new OB/GYN at Cleveland, informing her that her vitamin D levels are dangerously low.  She’s at a 15 and from what I’ve read, a healthy level is anywhere from 30-110. She has to go back on prescription strength vitamin D. 

While we were on the way to Lizze’s appointment, I got an email from babble.com telling me that my Facebook page is in the top 30 of Autism related Facebook pages.  I was pretty excited as I’ve been trying really hard to improve the Lost and Tired fan page.

I was feeling pretty good as we arrived at the Cleveland Clinic today.
The whole vitamin D thing with Lizze can be corrected and I just won an award. 
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Before I can walk in the door of the hospital, I get another email from babble.com, retracting the previous email as it was a mistake. Man,  that sucks but life moves on and today was about Lizze and not me. 

Lizze had her xrays done and we got back to see her new doctor quickly.  The doctor said that the film looked pretty good and only showed very minor signs of arthritis.  Hell yeah!

Finally, some good news. 

I was totally afraid that she was going to need surgery. She was diagnosed with something called J band syndrome. While this is very painful, it can be worked on in physical therapy. 

Did I say hell yeah already?

We arrive to my parents house to pick up the boys and head home.  The moment Emmett gets into the car and for about the next 45 minutes,  he literally screamed and screamed and screamed.  He did eventually stop but only to become super hyper and has been bouncing off of everything in sight.  :-(

After we finished dinner and had sorta come down from the almost hour of screaming, I get a phone call……

It’s Lizze’s new orthopedist. She is personally calling because after reviewing her xrays a second time, she found something wrong with the tip of her femur.  It’s something to do with a divit and cartilage honestly, as soon as I realized it was bad news, my brain just shut down.

In 5 minutes we went from everything is okay to needing an MRI and possible surgery…. 

Fucking shit……….. Goddammit… Son of a bitch.


This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-)

Check out my #Autism Awareness Store to find really cool and unique #Autism Awareness Clothing and Accessories, designed by me. ;-)

For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.



Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/04/24/wtf-seriously-are-you-friggin-kidding-me/

Apr 16 2013

Encouragement

I’m really enjoying making these little cards with inspiring text.  On a day that has found me in rough place and unable to focus on  writing anything with any substance, this has been a pleasant change of pace. 

Hopefully, you will find some meaning in them as they each hold meaning for me. 

These have been very popular on Facebook today a special I wanted to show you all some love. 

Please feel free to share them, like them or pass them along to someone that could use the words of encouragement.

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This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-)

Check out my #Autism Awareness Store to find really cool and unique #Autism Awareness Clothing and Accessories, designed by me. ;-)

For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.

Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/04/16/encouragement/

Apr 04 2013

#Autism: Finding Help and Support

One of the toughest and most helpless feelings when it comes to special needs parenting is the feeling of isolation. It’s so easy to feel that way because it can be so incredibly difficult to find any type of support. 

All too often parents get discouraged because of a lack of support.  Let’s just be honest, there aren’t too many things that are more difficult than special needs parenting. 

Having said that, sometimes you have to turn to the Internet to make connections and find moral support.
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Unfortunately, there aren’t a great many places to go.  There is a a lot of bullying that takes place online and that really tends to scare people off and who can blame them.

This is precisely why I created the My Autism Help Forum.

I run this forum the same way I run this blog. 

As a parent to 3 boys with Autism and various other special needs, including very fragile health. I know what life can be like, especially when you feel alone. 

The My Autism Help Forums are designed using the best forum software available and includes a free forum app for your android device, so you can access the forums while away from your computer.  This app is absolutely top of the line, custom built and donated by Tapatalk, the industry standard in mobile forum apps. 
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I’ve also connected the forums to Facebook for easy registration, login and sharing of information with your Facebook timeline, group or friends.

I have several forum moderators, who are all well known within the special needs community.

We have a zero tolerance policy for any type of bullying will use the ban hammer if anything like that happens. 

Everyone has the right to his or her opinions. We have a right to disagree. At the same time, we also have the right to be treated with respect, dignity and compassion.  Just because we don’t agree doesn’t mean that we can’t support one another. 

Think of the My Autism Help Forum as a melting pot.  We have all kinds of people with different experiences, dealing with different types of special needs and all wanting to be a part of something that helps to make the world a better place. 

Please join us.  It’s free and you will be surprised how you can positively impact someone else.

Help me spread the word about this.  Post links on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. I want people to know that they aren’t alone and there are people that care and want to help.

Visit the My Autism Help Forums today.


This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-)

Check out my #Autism Awareness Store to find really cool and unique #Autism Awareness Clothing and Accessories, designed by me. ;-)

For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.

Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/04/04/autism-finding-help-and-support/

Apr 04 2013

Kuts 4 Kids: #Autism Friendly Haircuts

Whenever I come across a business that works very well with the Autism community, I like to shine the spotlight on them because quite frankly, they deserve it.

Kuts 4 Kids is the latest to receive this recognition for working well with my kids on the Autism spectrum.

"Like" Kuts 4 Kids on Facebook

“Like” Kuts 4 Kids on Facebook

As many of you are aware of, taking a child with Autism to get a haircut is very often a traumatic experience for all involved.

When it comes to the Lost and Tired family, our experience with haircuts is hit or miss.  Sometimes the boys do really, really well. Others times, especially with Emmett in particular, we struggle and very often won’t even make it out of the car.

We have been going to Kuts 4 Kids for a few years now and all I can do is sing their praises.

The boys do pretty well there.  Jessica and Jodi are so incredibly patient and seem to find a way to work with our boys so they feel comfortable with them inside their personal space.

The boys get to pick a special seat and watch cartoons while they get their hair cut, which is a great distraction.

“Like” Kuts 4 Kids on Facebook

While not every child with Autism is subject to having a different experience at Kuts 4 Kids, they will be treated with kindness, compassion and most of all, respect.

Kuts 4 Kids is our home for haircuts because the kids just do much better there, than the other places we’ve tried over the years. I would encourage you all, if you live in the Akron/Canton, Ohio area, to give them a try.
As a special needs parent, we have to sometimes look for awhile to find something that works for our kids.  If you can manage a less stressful haircut, wouldn’t that just be awesome.  It works for us.  :-)

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This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-)

Check out my #Autism Awareness Store to find really cool and unique #Autism Awareness Clothing and Accessories, designed by me. ;-)

For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.


Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/04/04/kuts-4-kids-autism-friendly-haircuts/

Mar 30 2013

Change can be good

I wanted to explain a few changes that I’ve recently made to this site as well as my Facebook community page.

One of the things that every blog needs is a tag line

In the almost 3 years that Lost and Tired has been around, I’ve never really had an official tag line.

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That has changed as I have finally decided on a tag line.

Hence forth,  this site will be called, Lost and Tired: Confessions of an Autism Dad.

I feel that this is a very fitting tag line and I like it.

The second change that you may have noticed is to the Lost and Tired Facebook community page. It’s no longer a dumping ground for links back to the a in site.  My community page is now rich with information and community discussion, that more and more people are talking about.  Please stop by and Like the page and join the discussion.

I have some more things coming down the shoot, that I will be able to tell you about very soon. 

I know many people out there don’t like change but these are relatively subtle and I hope that everyone does okay with them. 

As always, best wishes.  :-)

I would love to get your feedback on these changes.  Please do so in the comments below.  :-)  


This site is managed via WordPress for Android, courtesy of the @SamsungMobileUS Galaxy Note 2 by @Tmobile. Please forgive any typos as autocorrect HATES me. ;-)

Check out my #Autism Awareness Store to find really cool and unique #Autism Awareness Clothing and Accessories, designed by me. ;-)

For more ways to help the Lost and Tired family, please visit Help the Lost and Tired Family.



Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2013/03/30/change-can-be-good/

May 08 2012

What is #Autism: Running For Autism

Running For Autism

Meet Kristen and check out her awesome blog, it’s at http://runningforautism.com. Follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Running-for-Autism/202132916468255 and find her on Twitter, her handle is @running4autism.

 

When we first got hit with my firstborn son George’s autism diagnosis, people kept telling us it was a good thing. Now that we knew what was wrong, they said, we could find out more about it and get the right services in place. We could get George on the waiting list for this service or that funding. We had a word, a specific condition, to Google.

These well-meaning folks, most of whom did not have any first-hand knowledge of special needs parenting, made it sound so easy. All of the answers and help we needed, just a phone call away.

In practice, this should have been true. In Ontario, autism services – specifically, IBI therapy, which falls within ABA – are funded by the government. That’s the good news. The bad news is that not all individuals with autism qualify. Even though we had in our hot little hands a fifteen-page report detailing the level of George’s autism and what his strengths and deficits were, we had to take him to be assessed by a government social worker. The results of this assessment would determine our eligibility for services.

We were a collective bag of nerves on the day of the assessment: George because he was being lugged across the city to unfamiliar faces at a strange place, and me and my husband because so much was riding on this day. If the assessment did not go in our favour, we would have to fund the IBI therapy ourselves, and we hardly had two beans to rub together.

After the assessment, we couldn’t get a sense of which way the wind was blowing, and we went through three unbearable weeks before we got the results.

I cried when I finally got the news that George had been deemed eligible. Gut-wrenching sobs of relief for us, and tears of sorrow for all of those families who weren’t so lucky.

After languishing on the provincial waiting list for another year and a half, George finally started IBI therapy. We were nervous about it: we were well aware that if he did not make notable progress, he could be removed from the program, which was strapped for government funding.

As it turned out, George could have been a poster child for IBI. Going in, he had virtually no communication skills and no daily living skills, and a multitude of issues relating to behaviour and emotional regulation. We started seeing results within two weeks of him entering the program. He got better at making verbal requests, there were fewer scary head-banging incidents, and a true aptitude for numbers emerged.

In his first year of services, George made 23 months worth of gains. This was nothing short of phenomenal. No-one had expected him to launch himself on this kind of trajectory. The potential in this kid just exploded. Far from being discharged from the program, the staff at the therapy center were itching to see what they could accomplish with him.

Over the next two years, we gradually shifted the bulk of George’s time from the IBI program to the special ed class at his school. Almost every day we saw some form of progress. By the time he made the transition to full-time school, he was making requests using full sentences, he was initiating some simple social exchanges, and he had learned a number of valuable daily living skills. We also started seeing the emergence of his quirky sense of humour (it has to be said: the kid is funny.)

It hasn’t all been plain sailing. George still has some intense challenges. He panics when his hair is washed or his nails are cut. He still doesn’t talk unless he absolutely has to, and his social communication skills still lag far behind. He struggles with emotional regulation and has meltdowns that break my heart. Any change to his regular routine is enough to send him into a tailspin.

As hard as it is, and as much as I sometimes want to hide in a corner with my hands over my head, the good far outweighs the bad. When I look at George, I see a child who is smart and funny, who sees the world differently to the rest of us. I see a child whose way of thinking is totally unique yet sometimes, highly effective. He can focus intensely on something that interests him, and he pays careful attention to detail.

At the same time, he is chock-full of love, never short of a hug for me, his dad, and his little brother.

He is an amazing kid, and as long as he continues to receive the support he needs, the sky will be the limit for him.

Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/05/08/what-is-autism-running-for-autism/

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