Robzoloft

Hey Everybody- Woke up to the delightful sounds of one daughter vomiting in her bed while her roommate ( daughter #2) was blowing her nose into her blanket...plus,its raining outside. House full of sick, bored kids ages 9, 10, 12, 13....should be good times!! A little more about me...my 2 older children ( my sons) both have autism spectrum disorders....the oldest is severe ( no speech, rocking, the whole symptomological gamut) while the 12 year old has Aspereger's Syndrome....this has been, is, and will always be hard to deal with...I am sure some of my resentments , anger and overrall exhaustion at times is related to this fact...it is what it is...having special needs kids is hard...period. Thankfully my girls are just normal Dad hating I'm not cool alpha females...maybe if my last name was Cyrus...I don't know. Anyway, thanks for all the kind words and support...I am trying. PS...my parents package from Florida still hasn't arrived....with so amny medical expenses witht the boys and in general the bulk of their gifts come from them....They'll be an opportunity for "the real meaning of Christmas" speech if that box doesn't come Monday....I'm trying not too stress too much...but you know how a lot of how men feel is wrapped up in what they can give....Thanks

Jomey

Hey Rob, it certainly seems like you have your hands full! You have a lot going on with the kids every day, beyond all the Christmas over -excitement. It is so difficult to cope with sick children, and also with the autism, I'm sure. My nephew has Asperger's and he lived with us for a while when he was young. It's very stressful. All I can say is you are doing a great job, and remember that even though they may not appreciate it now, you are giving them the greatest gift - being sober.

If you have the energy today and the kids feel up to it, see if you can find some quiet moment with each of them to make a small gift or card for their sibs. We do this every year, and it turns out to be one of the greatest moments of Christmas morning. Not only will you treasure the crayon misspellings for the rest of your life (and the staple-closed, half eaten bag of beef jerky if you are anywhere near as lucky as I was last year - that was my gift from son #2!!), but the kids will love doing it, having a "surprise" with Daddy, and they will love surprising their sibs. It will also take some of the pressure off waiting for that package to arrive.

Go easy on yourself, friend. You are doing a fine job.

tellus

Rob, every day I'm inspired by your progress threads. You're moving in on a week!

My closest friend has a sister who's the stereotypical nonverbal autistic... I know from observation that the parents of autistic kids are the strongest people there are. (And as cheesy as it sounds, even if that package doesn't come, you've already got the best Christmas gift you could give your kids: a sober Dad! They'll appreciate it when they're older. )

Room1

Hi Rob, I am on day 6 as well I have 3 daughters and the eldest who is 11 was diagnosed Autisic Spectrum Disordered when she was 3. She didn't talk until she was 4 and was very hard work. She has improved alot over the years though thankfully. I can understand how hard it must be to have two children on the autistic spectrum having one was/is hard enough.

Congratulations on your sober time and I hope your package turns up tommorow!

Sax

curliQ

Wow, you certainly have your hands full and many reasons to feel sorry for one's self. I'm very proud of you and being 3 days ahead of me..... you are an inspiration to me. How's that feel?

Pilgrim

Hi Rob,

I have an Autistic son too.

I am thinking of you today. I hope the day improves!!

Just for today ok?? Well done on your sober time.

Steph

xx

Hi Sax - I never knew that.

kelsh

Hi Rob,

I am just learning about Aspergers Syndrome and have known some about Autism from books I have read...It must be very hard to cope on some days. :bounce

Congratulations on your Sober Days...They do add up One Day At A Time...

kelsh

nandm

This may be considered off topic but I wanted to share with you an article I read recently regarding autism, ADD, depression, and such. I have tried to locate the article again but can't find it right now. So I will try to summerize it.

The article was discussions studies comparing the rates of mental health issues in different countries in relation to the amount of fish consumed in that country. It found a coorelation between low incidents of mental health, behavioral issues, autism, dementia, alzhiemers, and other types of mental health and behavioral diseases and the higher consumption of fish. They did a study with prison inmates where they gave a placebo to one group and the other group recieved an Omega 4 fatty acid supplement. The results were pretty astounding. The group that recieved the supplement has a significantly lower incident of anger, depression, aggressiveness, and behavioral issues. The theory they summized with the information they gathered is that the Omega 3 fatty acids are an intregal part of brain function that many do not get as, especially here in the US, the fish consumption is extremely low in many countries. Omega 3's are present in fish. They recommend a supplement of Omega 3's for anyone who does not eat fish on a regular basis. It might be worth talking with your doctor about as it may help your child.

caitlin666

rob.......i have a house full sick here too........snot and coughing everywhere

ive four boys and a little girl...21,14,11,8,2
my eleven year old is also autistic fortunately he is quite high functioning

youre doing great my friend, and the best thing they could have is for you to be sober ......... 'but i'll cross everything for that package arriving'

nandm that is very interesting, must check that out