My daughter has had a lot of trouble falling asleep here is what I learned with her. Maybe your kid can benefit. I try to keep the routine always the same. Everything gets as quiet as possible an hour before bed. Some of the house lights go off an hour before her bed. I think this prompts her. I tell her we will be going to bed in one hour. 15 minutes later I turn off another lamp. Then we start to brush teeth wash face, diaper, & prep for bed. Her job is to help let the dog out before bed. Another prompt for her. Then some more lights go out in the house. As we let the dog out I say 5 minutes until bed. If, she is willing we read one book sometimes two. I find that this routine, ritual & ques help her get the willies out & prep for bed. Every now & then she has what we call the night willies. She basically has so much energy she can not fall asleep. She talks to herself, wallows in the sheets, & stims out. I try & remove as much stimulus as possible, speak really softly, etc. We will sometimes go to another room & rock very gently on her "happy ball" fitness ball for about 15 minutes. I keep things as dark & peaceful as possible. Sometimes I will put some very rythmic soundscapes on on a low volume like ocean waves, tribal drums, etc. Usually, a bit of experimentation is involved. Also, deep pressure massage seems to help. Good luck on trying to get rid of the night time willies. - KC

Well, I have not been doing it long sooo... But, here is what I have learned so far. The red eye from CA to IN seemed to work well. We also brought her car seat so she was familar with the seat. Last time she threw a fit about the seat belt & the airline chair. She constantly wanted to be in her moms lap. Also, I brought lots of healthy snacks, koosh balls, books, & clay. On the leg out she slept most of the way. On the way back we will be doing midday travel so I will let you know how that goes. Well, on the leg back completed yesterday all went well. On the way back we did a day flight. Liv was awake the whold time. She was a good girl. She made some racket but it was all good & in the best spirits. Some people looked when she was making noise & exchanged a polite smile when the made eye contact with us. My biggest concern was the security gates. As I was afraid the caos; typically rude screeners; & transitions would be a problem. We took our time & did a lot of prep. Removing all the metal crud off me; having easy slip off shoes & such etc etc. The screener wanted Liv to walk through the metal detector along. Liv clinched on to me. And, I told the guy shes a "little different" & I think if it where best if I where to hold her hand as we went through it. We walked through & when we where waiting for our stuff to go through the xray he whispered something to the xray screener. I had a couple cartons of rice milk; organic juices; clay; & purified water bottles. All exceeded the the 3oz limit. They guy quickly opened my backpack quickly & reminded me of the 3oz limit with a smile & wink. I said thank you for making my travel easier. On the flight the carseat def. helped. As well as a lot of hand squeezing, back rubs, etc. All turned out well. I hope you traveling goes just as well. - Livs Dad

I'm a creative writer, but I've never spoken openly about my true sentiments and thoughts. I've never been comfortable recording such things. But I'm hoping this can be a proper outlet to let me write whatever comes to mind, even if I can barely understand the feeling enough to articulate it as I would like to. So here's to trying to new things, to not censoring myself, to not holding back. I swear to myself that I will try and show my mind as raw as I need to. I want to do this for me. And so that's where I will start, with trying to further my understanding of myself. And then maybe I can be a pillar to others.

I'm still new to what's what (blogs, forums, etc.) I just need to vent right now. My son is home 24/7 right now bec of the holidays. He loves electronics and music. He talks and talks. And repeats. Right now my husband is also home almost 24/7 bec he was involved in a motorcycle wreck (with a deer!) on Nov. 2, 2007, and he is not able to go back to work yet bec he has about 3 or 4 breaks in his collar bone that we are still waiting to heal. He doesn't seem to be able to do hardly anything w/o the t.v. on. So almost constantly throughout our house at least one t.v. is on, and then Matthew's mouth is going, or he is whining, or his music is on or something electronic or I'm hearing other stuff between the two them. I feel like I am about to burst! I am sooooo OVERSTIMULATED right now! I bought my husband wireless headphones so he could still hear the t.v., but I wouldn't have to hear it. He's not using them bec he says he doesn't like them. I did get Matthew a headset for the computer so I wouldn't have to hear all his stuff (mainly music). But when Matthew is off the computer he seems to be still making noise with something or talking and talking or whining or repeating stuff. I feel like I'm going crazy, and I just want to get away. Lately I've been staying up 'til about 3, 4, or 5:00 in the a.m. I think partially bec SOMETIMES it's the ONLY quiet time that I can find. I do get to turn off the t.v. when my husband falls asleep. So I feel like I'm going crazy with all this stuff, plus I'm not getting much sleep. Feel like just getting out and going somewhere quiet!

I have finally started the process to get Evan into Kindergarten. Please don't tell me I should have done it long ago. I know I should have. I can tell this transition of separation is going to kill me more than him. We have been best buddies for the past 6 years. So all said and done he will be going 1/2 day after the holidays. My main question is, how do I go about getting him a one on one aide? I think this will really help him with the transition of me dropping him off. The meeting hasn't taken place yet so it may be they will think he needs an aide before I suggest it. I have been checking different websites to see what the guidelines are but haven't found anything. Any input would be helpful. Thanks stephanie

Low functioning Autism has got to be the most frustrating thing I have ever had to deal with. Everything in my life revolves around Mickie. I just keep thinking that there will be no place for him in the world if he stays the way he is now. So I keep looking for ways to get him out of himself, so when I'm gone he can fight for himself. When he was diagnosed at 22 months I thought he would just start learning if he had intensive therapy, but he didn't and in fact got worse. By the age of four he was completely lost in his world. Chelation therapy did help get some of his eye contact back. On Mickie's 10th birthday I made the decision to start doing something more about my frustration with his slow progress. I had stopped video taping him right after the diagnosis of Autism. The life just kind of went right out of me. I started making videos of him again. I signed on to Youtube and created a channel for Mickie. The response to Mickie's videos has been interesting to say the least. Most people are very gracious, but some of the others are just plain nasty. Interesting enough some of the most negative comments have come from mothers of Autistic kids. I an not in any way ashamed of him, not by a long shot. Some have accused me of portraying Autism in a negative way. I just record Mickie being himself or what I like to call, "Mickie in the Raw". I'm guessing Mickie is not what the majority of people with Autism act like. I just got tired of seeing it portrayed as something just perfectly normal. It is what is; and, what is not is a dirty little secret that has to be hidden so that it won't offend the sensibilities of some. It's a cruel world out there! It's evident when I take him out in public and people do stare and give dirty looks and shush him, because he can get really loud and there just no way to stop him. Perhaps they have never seen anyone like Mickie, because Autism is portrayed as something else. Autism isolates the entire family, not just the afflicted child. It is difficult to visit and to have visitors. It is very hard and expensive to find appropriate childcare. It is very tough to describe what it feels like to see your child suffer and not be able to help him. The pain of knowing that no amount of therapy and no amount of money will ever give him back the potential he was born with, can seem at times, unbearable. The love that I feel for this little boy is more than I could imagine, but at the same time I morn every day for the child he once was and might never be again. Once in a blue moon I get a glance at the precious little person trapped inside his confused body - that person who views the world so different than me. And it's at those moments that I remember why I was meant to be his mother. It's hard to see everyone else's life around you go on as if everything was just fine, yet you know it's not ever going to be the same for you. Sometimes when I touch bottom and I imagine this little guy as a grown man, and me too old to watch over him, I realize that this is as close as I have ever been to hell. Am I bitter? Yes! Am I happy? No!! This days happiness is just a word, a front for the rest of world to see, because in the end; I just want my son back. http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=autismtookmickie I may be contacted at autismtookmickie@gmail.com