Jun 14 2012
I wanted to share Elliott’s latest Lego creation. It’s actually a hybrid of sorts because he used non-Lego parts as well.
He took a seashell and used his Lego’s to create an ocean crab, as he calls it. I was really impressed with this because it’s extremely creative and he came up with this on his own.
Great job Elliott. 
Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/06/14/elliotts-lego-creation-hybrid-crab/
Jan 21 2012
On January 19,2012 our van was stolen, right in front of us. The boys we’re watching out the front window as it happened and I was literally 10-15 feet away. They have been profoundly affected by this event, Gavin more so than the others.
He spent a lot of time crying and hardly spoke a word the entire day. Elliott is much more anxious than usual and Emmett wants his black car seat back. I do my best to reassure them and at this point, that’s all I can do.
Lizze and I are obviously upset and stressed out about this situation because if the van gets totaled out, we’ll be left with nothing. To say that this is problem is like calling the ocean a puddle. We have an average of 14 appointments a week -not including back and forth to school- between therapies and doctors.
Without our van, we’re pretty much dead in the water.
I really feel it’s important to have an open dialogue with the boys about what happened. They’re worried and don’t understand why this happened and what we are going to do.
Gavin, as you will see in the video, thinks that we did something wrong. He has been asking “what we did wrong” and “why did they do this to us”.
I wanted to give the boys a chance to say what they were feeling and ask their questions and even deliver a message to anyone thinking about doing this to someone else. They need to know that it’s okay to feel whatever they feel and it’s important to get these feelings out so we can talk about them.
As always, but especially now, I’m extremely proud of my boys.
This is their voice.
Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/01/21/in-their-own-words/
Jan 16 2012
Sometimes it’s easy to get swept up by the raging tides and forget about just how beautiful the ocean can be. The same thing cannot be said about Autism.
In my own personal situation with the Lost and Tired family, I find myself failing to see the beauty behind the challenge.
It’s so easy for me to get overwhelmed by all the challenges we face, day in and day out. Honestly, the weight or responsibility and be absolutely crushing at times.
So many times, I’m asked how I manage.
I never really know what to say to that question. In truth, I really don’t know.
However, after thinking about this for some time, I have come to have a better understanding of how and why I keep going.
While the challenges facing the Lost and Tired family may be different than yours, the driving force behind behind our seemingly never ending strength is, I think, the same as many of yours.
As a parent to 3 special needs boys, I never imagined the challenges I would face while traveling the road of life with my family.
This road has many twists and turns as well as blind corners. These blind corners are some of the toughest to cope with because many times all you have if faith that you’ll safely navigate your family through.
It’s true that all three of my boys are in the Autism Spectrum. It’s true that some of our boys are dealing with other health issues, some minor, while others are more serious. It’s also true that we struggle with behavioral issues just about every single day.
It seems like we are always, either going to or coming from an appointment or therapy session.
It’s exhausting, overwhelming and demoralizing at times.
With all that said, there is something else you need to know a out my boys. Despite the challenges associated with raising them, they never cease to amaze me.
My boys are intelligent, loving, compassionate, creative, generous, courageous, brave, courteous, inventive, genuine, inspiring and most importantly, well worth the effort that goes into helping them to navigate the road of life.
I think that’s why I keep going.
As to the how, I really don’t have a solid answer for that. I just think that when it comes to my children, I will cross raging ocean waters and climb the highest of mountains for them. I’ll fight anyone or anything that gets in their way.
My wife taught me, that no matter what the odds, you never give up. She is the glue that holds the Lost and Tired family together much of the time.
I’m not really that different than anyone else.
I get overwhelmed, beaten down, demoralized and sometimes even want to give up. Lost and Tired is a way to basically sum up how I feel much of the time.
As special needs parents, I think we’re all hero’s, maybe not the conventional type. However, when the rest of the world would have given up, we keep pushing forward and never give up on our precious little angels. We are absolutely hero’s to our children.
I think it’s very important that we never lose sight of that.
Just because I choose to write about my adventures doesn’t make me any more amazing than you.
My hat’s off to all of you…..
Cheers.
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Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2012/01/16/the-road-of-life/
Apr 26 2010
The “Help Me Grow” people are coming out again today to continue Emmett John’s evaluation. The more time that goes by the it looks like Emmett John will not escape the diagnosis.
He doesn’t talk yet. All he can do is grunt and squeal (very loud). He has become more aggressive towards Elliott Richard and Lizze. Emmett John hits Elliott Richard for no apparent reason. He also claws up Lizze’s face actually breaking the skin. She has scratches in various stages of healing on her chin and cheeks.
I don’t know why he does any of this. I think maybe he is just frustrated because he can’t communicate with us so he lashes out. I don’t know why he targets those two only but it’s getting old.
Lizze and I are both completely worn out and have nothing left. Some how we manage to get out of bed in the morning and get things going but that’s where the productivity ends. There are so many things that need to be done to this house but it comes down to money and energy, of which we have none.
I wish there were more agencies out there to help families like ours. We always fall into that grey area where there is little to no help.
The truth is that things just seem to keep getting more difficult to manage. I feel like I’m being crushed under this weight. I even dream about being crushed or drowning in the middle of the ocean. That tells me I’m pretty stressed out and overwhelmed.
Not sure how I’m going to pull this off. Sometimes I really think our only chance is a miracle.
LT
Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2010/04/26/autism-autism-and-more-autism/
Mar 22 2010
On the ocean of life we are experience high tide’s and low tide’s. Sometimes there are even rip tide’s that pull you out to sea.
We have experienced many low tide’s and many more rip tide’s in our voyage so far. Today started out pretty low. We had to rush Lizze to the ER because yesterday she developed a HUGE bruise on her lower belly where they made the incision. I was concerned because the bruise showed up a week after the surgery. My parents came and got the kids and we were off to the ER. Everything checked out just fine and we were back a few hours later. My parents held on to the kids so we could get some much needed sleep.
Later on I spent some time with Gavin and Emmett John. Gavin was doing really well. We actually talked and even shot some hoops in the dining room. He was actually engaged. That almost never happens anymore. He played with Emmett John and never once got to rough. I actually had a good time. We even talked about his bio-father (I raised Gavin since he was about 15 months old). I actually finally got to adopt him a almost 2 years ago. Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty good day.
Gavin tends to be this way when he is sick. We have noticed that when he runs a fever all of his autism related symptoms are gone. This only ever happens when he is sick though. They call it the” fever effect”. It is documented that this happens to some kids with autism. We haven’t had one of these moments of clarity in quite a long time. It was just nice to be able to take advantage of it.
The reality is that he will struggle again tomorrow as he starts to get better. I’ll take what I can get 
Lost and Tired
Permanent link to this article: http://lostandtired.com/2010/03/22/riding-the-wave/
Rob Gorski is a husband and father of 3 boys on the Autism Spectrum. Gorski began his writing career in June of 2010 with his multiple award winning blog Lost and Tired: Confessions of an Autism Dad. Recently cited as the 3rd most influential Autism Blogger on the internet by Dr. Oz's Sharecare website, where he is an expert on Autism.
His mission is to create dialogue, spread Autism Awareness, educate the public on how technology can benefit a special needs family and do so in ways that society can relate to and understand.
Gorski advocates for special needs families and those on the Autism Spectrum, both young and old.
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