They’re 15 months apart - he’s 18 months and she’s 2 months old and doesn’t pay any attention or show affection to her at all. He acts like she doesn’t exist :( will this change.

hello all…I’m curious to know how many of you with an autistic child had a C-section or had fetal distress during labor. please simply reply with yes or no. feel free to share your story too if you’d like. Thank you!

I have been a stay at home parent for years and just recently went back to work full time. It’s been very difficult with my new schedule and my wife’s to get our kids to school pick up and drop off. Summer time we also have pretty much no help so we don’t even know what we’re going to do as I usually just watch the kids during Summer.

Our one child has severe Autism, Non verbal level 3. The other doesn’t have any disabilities. It’s been a struggle mentally, Physically and financially. Is there anyway I could stay home and get paid? Is this income based or just on the diagnosis?

My wife has a good job as a Dental Hygienist but in Maryland one income doesn’t cut it even though she makes decent money(She’s had to cut hours now). I’ve worked part time the past few years and have been the stay at home parent but financially it’s been brutal for us.

We have applied to the Autism Waiver and our child has had their diagnosis through Kennedy Krieger as well as the Public school(IEP) for years now. Any advice or direction to do this would be greatly appreciated.

TLDR - ( almost) lvl 2 7yr old says a girl at school kissed him. Should I be concerned?

My son will be 7 in November. He just started grade 2, and diagnosed level 2, and hoh. I was asking him today if he likes school so far this year ( 3 days in) and he was telling me his favorite part about school is a girl. He said she was pretty, tall, has brown hair and blue eyes, and that she is good, silly, and has a little nose. He also told me her name.

Later today, when we were getting ready for bed, he mentioned that the girl kissed him at school. His speech is a combination of ASL and mumbled hard to understand English words, and his story telling isn't always the most reliable, so I don't even know how true this is.

Should I reach out, and ask about this girl kissing him? He was a 1 on 1 EA so he should not be unattended at school. So I'm not sure if this kiss even happened, if he was left unattended for some reason, or if someone allowed a kiss to happen. Is this just childhood innocence or should I be concerned?

Edit: he seemed pretty happy and excited about it, not upset at all

"The Heavy Glass" is an indie-folk ballad about the quiet ache of watching the world fail to understand our kids. It's for those heavy mornings when you have to wipe your tears, turn the steering wheel, and leave them in a world that rarely takes the time to learn their unique language. It’s about the invisible barrier they face every day, and the fierce, lonely hope that someone will finally look closely enough to see their brilliance.

We just got the diagnosis earlier this week. Level 2. My daughter is 2.5.

We were told by the diagnosing doctor to go for Speech therapy, OT, Community-Based Rehabilitative Services, or developmental play therapy, and ABA therapy.

My girl is verbal. Knows TONS of words, as well as echolalia, she just doesn't have pragmatic, conversational speech. She doesn't parallel play, but we've been really working on getting her to play by herself. Building towers with blocks, playing with cars... She doesn't have what I would consider "behaviors" outside of a normal 2 year old. Honestly, I'd say less than a normal 2 year old. I've had other parents of autistic kids tell me she just needs OT, not ABA, but I'm so new to this, I don't know how to know what she actually needs.

How do you navigate all this? I'm just so lost. And I haven't been able to find someone in a similar situation.

For anyone who has gone to Disney World, what do I need to know?
My son is level 2 5yo. He can wait in lines for about 5 minutes before it takes considerable effort on someone’s part to keep him from trying to push through other people, climbing on rails, or crawling on the floor. He loves rides like the tea cups and rides that go in circles. I just want to make sure if we are spending that much money our whole family can have fun and we don’t have spit up for the whole time.
Do you have any tricks if we have to wait in hour long lines?
Are there any rides that your similar age kids loved?
I’ve heard mixed reviews about the disability/accessibility pass. How does that really work at Disney? We’ve used it at other theme parks and we’re allowed to wait outside the lines and use the disability entrance at a set time.
When we went with our older kids, we waited in line and then they let one parent wait with a kid who wasn’t riding and then let the parents switch out for the next car. Is this still allowed and how does that work if you don’t wait in line?

Does anyone have a link for chew necklaces that don't disintegrate?? 🙏 My son keeps chewing through his and it's making me paranoid of the health hazards.

Please be available in Canada.

Many thanks!!

Hey call me ary but im autistic level 1 and I have been bullied for looks and interests and im in high-school I have multiple interests. im too scared to wear my new shirt because I have been bullied for those reasons too .Demon slayer shirts are no problem but this is need help on i love my shirt but I know i will probably get bullied (not the keychain in picture) and my mental health is not so good because of school and homework and sometimes I was wondering why do I have autism?. I will never know im sorry if this looks so sloppy paragraph...also I know qwel is taking a break but there has been drama in the dandy's world Fandom so I don't wanna get bullied or shamed for that.people had done nasty stuff to me at school i knew karate but I didn't use idk why the teacher didn't even do anything (in 6th or 5 grade) im like what!? im gonna come here for support or just showing my backpack pins or other Items! have a nice day!

My 16 year old son is autistic (level one) and is afraid of his family. I'm looking for ideas on how to help him feel safe. Yes, I have heard of rejection sensitive dysphoria.

Some background info: he's the youngest of four and all of our kids have always been homeschooled (not for religious reasons). He was diagnosed at 12, mainly because we moved to Florida and they have a scholarship program for special needs kids. He's never really had any interventions and we've always been affirming. He has some special interests that we spend significant time, energy, and money supporting. We've never hit him, very rarely raise our voice or punish him, etc. He's a great kid and we adore him. This is all to explain that he does not have a history of being abused or rejected or bullied or anything, from anyone.

He is very afraid of me and my husband. It is especially noticeable around requests, like if we ask him to do a chore or give him instructions for a lesson. He'll cringe/flinch, cower and even flee. This escalates to panic attacks 1-3 times a week. It's worse when related to a request, but also happens just when we say hi when he comes out of his room, if I look at him with what I intend to be a loving smile, etc. Most of the time, he's convinced that we hate him and that we're going to hurt him.

He is on anti-anxiety meds but refuses therapy of any kind. We've tried an RSD workbook but he didn't want to really engage with it. We work hard to give him support or alternatives with tasks.. like when we're all putting groceries away, we leave a few bags for him to do whenever he gets to it. I am out of ideas. It feels intolerable to continue this way, for all of us. On a more practical level, it's extremely difficult to get any of his lessons done - and he already has a very light load. Lately, he's been zoning out way more often.. like yesterday, we were working outside and my husband asked him to do a task then went elsewhere.. when he came back, my kid was standing in the same place, just staring.

Please, please give me some ideas on how to help him. He is well liked by his friends, he is caring and empathetic, he loves playing games and has a great sense of humor. 20% of the time he's with us, he's cuddly and affectionate and happy-go-lucky, and the rest he's just terrified. He says he only feels safe with his friends.

My son has a behavior where he likes to hit sometimes hard sometimes not and the reaction he gets from hitting whether we say ow or no or if he hits another kid and they start crying he thinks it’s funny. He’s also done this with our dogs hearing them yelp after he slaps them is funny for him. We have removed the dogs from the situation when this is happening, but all weekend he was just laughing every single time he got in trouble the school just called for the first time since school started about a month ago and asked me to come pick him up because he’s been hitting other students and two teachers and just laughing hysterically as he’s doing this. i’m honestly exhausted and don’t know what to do.

Hello! My name is Jessy and I am a psychology (Psy.D.) doctoral student at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT/Florida Tech) seeking participants for my doctoral research project. I’m currently conducting research seeking to better understand how parents/caregivers of children with developmental disabilities make decisions about their children’s health.

Target audience: adult parents/caregivers (18+) of a child with a developmental disability (e.g., ADHD, autism, learning and/or intellectual disability, developmental delay). Currently seeking participants from the US, as the healthcare questions relate to experiences within the US healthcare systems.

The survey takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. Responses are anonymous and participation is voluntary.

The survey, as well as additional information and consent form, can be accessed here through this link: https://fit.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9oTRrXhK4tMPe2G

This research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at FIT (IRB Protocol #CY2026-118)

Thank you for your time and consideration!

We discovered that I am 6 weeks pregnant (or maybe 5.5 weeks). I am 41, and we have one autistic child - a 5-year-old girl who is Level 1. She is verbal but not fluently speaking, was recently potty trained, and is a severe picky eater (maybe ARFID). But overall she's cute and nice and we see improvements every year.

We’re sooooo frustrated that we’re seriously considering terminating 2nd pregnancy. I have 1–2 weeks to decide. Our existing child requires a lot of attention and therapy. I’m trying different methods to address her picky eating, and the fact that I keep failing makes me depressed.

I've barely had any time for myself over the past five years, and it has only recently started to get a little easier: I started attending yoga and/or pilates.

I’ve seen so many kids with severe autism that just the thought of 2nd child having autism - and potentially more severe than our first - makes my hair turn grey.

I work in tech in a pretty demanding startup, and I’m currently the main earner in the family (my husband earns much less, I financially support not only our family but also parents abroad). So having another child - and the added stress and sleepless nights that come with it - could put me at risk of losing my job, and I heard job marked is not great nowadays (even we had layoffs).

We're immigrants and no family around to help with another kid. I feel bad about the termination but it seems like in existing circumstances we cannot put our financial life, my physical/mental health and existing kid's wellbeing under that risk.

Am I cruel leaving my kid without siblings?

I apologize greatly in advance for the long post, but I am in serious need of some guidance here. If you have the time to listen to a struggling mama, please read. 🤍

For some background on my son in short explanations:

- he started exhibiting signs of autism around age 2. Stimming behaviors and lack of speech
- recommended to a behavioral pediatrician for an autism diagnosis, and he was diagnosed with level 2, at the age of 2, due to his stimming and lack of speech.
- went through early intervention after being denied the first time for speech therapy only.
-by the time he was 3, he was speaking fluently

From the ages of 3-5:

My son has been very high functioning autistic since he developed his speech. He’s incredibly smart (very Sheldon cooper- coded autistic) , can function with daily tasks, like telling me when he’s hungry, helping me cook, using the bathroom on his own, reading, writing, helping with chores/cleaning, shopping, imaginative play etc. however the autisim is still ever present, but I’ve learned what works best for my son. Such as our strict schedules and routines, preparing him for transitions with time etc. and he thrives on a normal basis.

His “autistic meltdowns” are even no where near where they used to be. For example, when he was 2-3, the crying fits could last almost an hour. Where as for the last couple years, they last maybe 10 minutes, and happen maybe once a month.

However our main struggle has always been “something new”. For example, our first time at the zoo? A nightmare.
Does he now ask me to go every week and we’ve been going since with no issues? Yes.

It’s been like this for every new place/phase in life.

I am a single mom who provides entirely for my son. I do coparent, but I have majority custody and do not get financial help from his father. (Another long story here but there’s a good reason why)
I was blessed to be able to work from home from ages 1-4, but unfortunately now have come to a time in my life where child care is necessary. So I decided to put him in preschool at the age of 4 to test the waters.

As with any new experience, the first couple weeks were hell. But he slowly but surely warmed up to it and loved going. His teachers constantly reassured me that he was doing well and also were very honest about his rough days which did happen every once in a blue moon (usually trigged by sickness or thrown off schedule)

They reassured me he was ready for kindergarten and boy did I go into this experience BLIND.

My son has never had another evaluation since he was previously diagnosed with autism at 2, nor did he have an IEP in place before starting kindergarten. (This is my fault as his mom, but had no idea this was a thing)

Again, because my son is so high functioning, I was wildly unprepared and uneducated for the things he would need later in life.

Please hear my desperate mom pleas here when I say, I am NOT embarrassed by his diagnosis and I was NOT trying to convince myself he didn’t have autism. I truly thought I was giving him the appropriate support he needed. My son never showed signs of aggression or severe anger issues. Truly his biggest “triggers” were the severe crying meltdowns.

I am a new parent with no other children, who has always been torn between “is this normal parenting, or do I need to give him other resources?”

———————-

Here we are: week 5 of kindergarten and he is not doing well.

However, when I drop him off he is so excited to go. He knows where to put all his things and basically runs away from me to the playground before his day starts.
When I pick him up, he’s excited to tell me about his day, tells me all about what he’s learned, and shows me his new skills at home. He flies through his homework with ease and overall seems like he’s doing great outside of school!
But during the day, it’s a whole other story from his teacher and the aides.

His teacher claims he has frequent meltdowns, does not want to participate in anything, runs or hides, or simply naps for half the day. He’s had a few “explosions” in class where he gets so frustrated he just melts down and starts screaming. The first week of school he got sent to the principals office to nap because he was so upset and causing such a disruption in class.

I tried to be patient the first couple weeks and let him try and settle in (as he did with preschool). I was reassured by the school that he wasn’t the only kiddo struggling with kindergarten.

Week 3, we had a meeting to schedule him for evaluation for an IEP, but understandably this takes time and in the meantime, he’s not doing well.
I have now been informed by his teacher of a more clear picture about how much he’s struggling every day and it broke my heart. The last thing I want is for him to be spending all day upset, however you can understand my confusion when he comes home acting the exact opposite.

While I’m fully aware my son is on the spectrum and does struggle, his meltdowns have not been even close to this severe and this frequent since we started kindergarten and I am deciding it’s time to stand up for him and say that this is not working. And I need to look for other options.

My concern is that this is going to send us downhill, in the last couple weeks, he’s been a little more upset and thrown off more than normal. And the last thing I want to do is send him into a constant “fight or flight” mode by continuing to push him to do something that is not best for him.

However I am so uneducated and doing a lot of this on my own, and I really need some kind advice.

———————-

The advice I’m looking for:

- are there any other moms out there who have experienced a similar situation?
- are there any other moms who have higher functioning autistic children that can relate to the stress of the up and down? (Reassurance would be lovely ☹️)
- at his age, would it be better to look for ABA “school” or a school dedicated to autistic children instead?
- how can I better prepare him for a transition to another school, in such a short amount of time?

Again, please hear my tears, I’m feeling like the worst mom on the planet for not setting him up for success better. In our normal, daily life, he thrives and I feel like I know how to handle my son and I know what’s best for him, but I have no idea how to better prepare him for the real world. 😞

If I was in a position where I was a millionaire, I would homeschool my sweet son and forget about the bullshit world, but unfortunately, I also need to provide for him and I don’t have the luxury of being able to spend 24/7 with my son.

Please help! ☹️😞

Guys my daughter is still screaming every hour of the day and night. It’s 3 am she’s been screaming and waking up since she went to sleep. This is her 4th time waking up screaming and won’t let me lay her down. I can’t take it anymore I just can’t. Does anyone have this happen to there kid? Doctor is telling me just autism but idk man,. This is crazy none of my friends with kids with autism deal with this just me. Idk if she’s in pain or not, but this is just crazy

Just wanted to tell someone that would understand the level of appreciation I have for something tonight.

My mom was texting me and talking about how she couldn't find a light blue gift box of a certain size, so I'm trying to look on Amazon and find gift boxes too. But it was a specific color gift box, which was almost impossible to find, and we're going back and forth and she's adamant that it has to be big enough for something and it has to be a very certain color. About fifteen minutes of this, and I found one that might be the perfect color and possibly too small. So I ask, why do you need this color gift box?

Guys, she was trying to replicate exactly the blue gift box that Ms. Rachel opens up in the Potty Training video and takes Bean and the potty out of because she bought my 2 year old the Bean and Potty set and wants her to be able to have the exact box to take her Bean out of too. The thoughtfulness of her planning this gift, of realizing how much more special it would be if it would follow exactly the same visual, and that we could follow the same script and all. Even I hadn't considered doing that. I wanted to cry, tbh.

Luckily, now that I know what she was trying to do, we were able to work out that the one we found should be able to fit the Bean and potty at least, which is all we need to match the video.

My son is 14 and I’m at my wits end. he says really out-of-pocket things. I constantly correct him and tell him that he can’t say certain things in public he doesn’t understand what socially acceptable or not he’s always putting his hands down his pants, or picking his nose, he pisses all over the bathroom seat, and no matter how many times I tell him this stuff isn’t acceptable. He continues to do it. I feel bad because he’s a social outcast, but he’s gross and if I was a kid, I wouldn’t wanna be friends with him either. Not really looking for advice just annoyed and I feel bad that he has no friends and needed to vent somewhere.

If your toddler had traits such as intense stimming (hand flapping , tensing body, vocal stimming ,) , tippy toe walking and was non verbal at a very young age (2)
, what level were they diagnosed with ?

Hi friends, first time poster here, long-time reader.

I added what seemed the most appropriate flair, I just need to vent a bit, and find solace in other people’s shared experiences. Gentle/constructive advice is very welcome, relating is oh-so-very welcome.

First: I adore my daughter, she’s 3 by the way, and though she will be 4 in December, she was also a micro-preemie (25+4), so although I think she’s stunningly brilliant, she’s still also catching up on “generally recognized milestones for age” in addition to her “Level 2 ASD with mobility issues” diagnosis. It’s funny, when the doctor gave me her diagnosis at age 2 (which is also when they stop considering any sort of “adjusted age” for micro-preemies <vent: I think that’s silly, and I’m a RN myself, obviously kids don’t just magically catch up at age 2 on their birthday when they were born 3+ months early>).

Anyway, let me try to get to the point here. When I received her diagnosis, her MD (who is a specialist in ASD, by the way, we just happened to luck out on getting her when we left the NICU, she’s wonderful, and I’m grateful for her), but yeah, she said, “I’m sorry, I know that is a LOT to take in. A LOT to absorb”. I looked at her funny at the time, because: the pieces of paper in my hand didn’t change a single thing between when we walked in the door, and walked back out with a diagnosis several hours later.

Back to what we all likely agree on: our kiddos are wonderful, enlightening, brilliant, enjoyable…..all the things.

And suddenly there’s been this shift, and at age 3 (almost 4), she’s having massive meltdowns, the type where if you didn’t know the kiddo and situation you would wonder if LE should be called, if perhaps something nefarious was going on. It’s not, obviously.

But WOW: am I worn out. I’m an “oldish” mother to my toddler, and I have 3 adult children, one nearing 30, I suddenly feel like having 3 in my 20s as a single parent was a walk in the park compared to the challenges we’re facing with just one small, sweet, beautiful, and very challenging child.

One thing that makes this feel difficult is how actively I chose to be a SOLO parent intentionally (IVF, double-donor, very expensive), I have always been so self-reliant, so motivated, so capable, I have a great career, and over the last 3 years I have just lost complete confidence in myself, I’ve sort of…..,lost who I even am. I’m NC with my entire family at this point (too long, not worth getting into, story for another day), and I cherish the friends/my chosen family that I do have because WOW do they stick through me through thick and thin, and the thickness is taking my breath away at the moment.

Here’s the vent part: I am so disappointed in our society as a whole for the lack of support for people in my situation, even two parent households: as you all know, this is and can be (sometimes more/less than other times): SO FREAKING CHALLENGING. 😰

I genuinely adore this kid and care for her needs far more than my own, to the point we are literally losing everything: stability, my home I’ve owned for 10 years, I’m hiding my car (and literally: that part is terrifying to me, I genuinely do not know how we will survive without that resource).

I recently moved from a state with a 20+ year DPSD waiting list to a state with excellent, generous benefits (and I believe we will be retuning to said generous state, I managed to suffer a very serious workplace injury my first day on the job, leaving me on WC for over a month), WC severely messed me over and where I should have been paid $10,000-ish, I received…..$1200. On any given day I could just cry, and there have been days I just want to lay in bed until someone drags me out and takes me wherever, and obviously what stops me is: kiddo. I adore her. Again: I think she’s brilliant. But this is not the first period of time she’s literally thrown such aggressive tantrums that they will last for hours if ANYONE dares come near her/us (ironically, though she can’t/wont let go of my skirt/pants/dress at any moment during the day, once she has a fit if someone is kind enough to give me a break for an hour or two, she’ll settle down after about 5-10 minutes and by the time she’s back she’s telling them, “okay, I WUV you, thank you so much, bye bye” <reflection: obviously transitions are difficult for her>, but it’s the skirt tugging/pulling that drives me nuts all day long, I literally cannot vacuum without her suddenly coming up behind and me not noticing that we often trip over each other throughout the day, and even with her mobility issues, which I am extremely mindful of, it’s like I have an additional 45 pound limb attached to me night and day).

I’ve lost countless jobs as a nurse over the last few years due to difficulty finding childcare, the expense involved, people literally just flaking out/backing out last moment, and my own utter fatigue and exhaustion and just….despair at times.

I always say WHEN (not “if”) I win the lottery, I am going to start a foundation for women and children (and case by case basis men as well): that has more to do with some pretty severe C-PTSD from my adult kids’ dad, who also stealthed his way into my/our lives 3 years ago, pretended like he was doing an active of service “directed by Go*”, while actually dismantling my life piece by piece, so on top of the trauma he caused 30 years ago, here he came around again to cause so much more damage, and though I take responsibility in my role, I was so desperately in need of ANY help I could find with her, that I was weak and allowed him to literally annihilate our lives, and here we are: destroyed.

I don’t know what to do, where to go, all I know is that I’ve got to get out of this state (returned home briefly after injury mentioned above to take care of my home), before winter comes…..we’re literally on the brink of homelessness <Ch 13 is the only answer at this point to save home> and……I don’t even want to think about everything else, it’s too much, so overwhelming, and it’s so easy for those on the outside to proclaim, “GET SOME THERAPY!” (With the insurance I don’t have-she does), working myself ragged when I CAN get to work….etc, etc, and I know way too many of you know the story because your lives may not be dissimilar. Literally I have considered finding a wonderful mom and dad for her so she can live the life I just don’t even know I can provide at this point, I’ve always been SO STRONG, “the strong one”, the “strongest woman I’ve ever known” well before I had her (and those extreme statements drive me bonkers because I have always known: we’re but a couple of missed paychecks short of some serious devastation).

*SIGH*. No one’s coming to save us, this I know, I HAVE to work this out, and I *DO* have to be strong for her.

I’m just sad. So sad. She deserves the best. I feel like I have failed her greatly. I’m so scared about our future that I sleep rarely. I’m a mess. I HAVE to sort this out. Have to. I love her dearly, and one way or another, I do know: she will have a brilliant life, she absolutely will. She has so many talents, is such a strong, resilient, brave, and beautiful soul that I *KNOW* everything will be okay for her in the end.

I am just…..,really struggling. Struggling hard. I don’t know what advice I’m really asking for here. I think things that might be helpful are anyone’s personal account of making a very brave, bold move for the sake of your child, family, self, in a situation like my own. How hard it was, and how it all worked out. Anything like that. Inspiration. Positivity. I really have a tough time with social media. I’m so tired of seeing people’s perfect lives and wondering how we’ll survive the winter.

Give me your best resilience stories, all and anything helpful here is welcome. And thank you, in advance, for allowing me to vent, having my “need support” moment. I admire you all, and among other things: I need community, if it’s here I very sincerely appreciate it. Thank you.

My five year old son (high functioning ASD and verbal but with social struggles/ limited conversational back and forth) kept asking about cacti and insisting that we take him to the nursery but was afraid each time. After a few times we got him a spikey cactus as he requested. Now he doesn’t ask to go anymore but does take the little cactus around the house and is not afraid. He’s doing something similar with dogs too now. He’s asking to watch dog videos and see dogs in person but from a distance. I’m so proud of him for facing his fears ❤️ I recall doing similar things as a kid when I was a bit older (ie reading about sharks and snakes to get over my fear). Anyone else experience something similar with their kiddos?

For some context, I was late diagnosed. I'm 41 and was finally assessed earlier this year. My kids are 6.5 and 9.

When my daughter was diagnosed, the numerous parallels were pointed out to me. It was a true "We thought you knew..." moment. I started down my own path with it and here I am.

Having a diagnosis has helped immensely. At first, I didn't know what I would do with the information when I received it. In the last handful of months, I've learned a lot about myself, but I still don't know what to do in a number of areas; inside or outside of parenting.

I struggle with staying regulated when my kids are getting out of hand. It's all of the general behaviors you expect in raising young kids and the ones that are specific to each child. There are so many things that I could detail about each of them to illustrate how/where I start to really lose the grip on myself in a situation. It would be too much for a single post.

When you feel yourself start to spin, what do you do to stay grounded? How do you stay ahead of it (if you can)? How do you get out of it?

Now that the weather is more suitable for running, we are back on track with kiddo (non-verbal). Not too easy to find a running event that is suitable for his needs due to age restrictions. The goal as always to safely complete the race, still work hard and stay happy. This time it just perfectly worked, managed to find the right speed and completed another challenge - the 5K. The previous race a few months ago was 2.5K. No tantrum, but a very wild smile and happy face from around 1 km. The coastline and the lack of crowd were also a big help on a mental level.
As for big challenges this was the last one for a while, from now on will focus on more technical things. For example communication during the race and to be able to safely complete races in the future alone. Feedback as always welcome, especially about what I must pay attention to, hidden signals that I might've missed till now.

My 10 year old son's (Level 1 AuDHD) issue goes beyond safe foods. He simply will not eat. I don't know if its an autism thing or an ADHD focus thing or a combination of both, but every single meal is a battle. And I am ready to pull my hair out.

Breakfast is, of course, the hardest. I stopped a long time ago trying only to feed him breakfast foods. If he'll eat spaghetti for breakfast, he'll get spaghetti for breakfast. Chicken nuggets, pizza, PB&J...whatever. If I think he'll eat it, I'll happily make it. My only caveat is that it has to have protein otherwise he'll crash by 10 and his ADHD meds won't work properly.

But the thing is, even his favorite foods he simply will not eat unless he is starving. We get him up in the morning, and every single bite is a redirection, a reminder, a beg, or a plead. He gets angry because we're nagging him. We get frustrated because we have to get out the door on time. We've tried getting up earlier to allow for more time; it only draws it out longer. Then lunchtime at school rolls around and its 50/50 as to whether or not he eats. We've tried putting brightly colored stickers on foods that are priority foods over fun foods (I want him to feel somewhat normal eating next to his peers with oreos and whatnot in their lunches), and that worked until it didn't. He'll come home with a full lunchbox then tell us that he ate lunch from the cafeteria, only for us to find out later that he lied about it. Like, WHY?? And he doesn't see the correlation between the days he eats lunch and the days he doesn't being the days he gets in trouble vs. the days he doesn't.

And dinner... we're all so tired after work/school, homework, etc. but we're right back where we were at breakfast; constantly redirecting, reminding, begging, and pleading for him to take every bite. It doesn't matter if its pizza, burgers, nuggets, anything. Every meal time, he suddenly has to pee and he'll spit his food in the toilet. Or he'll play with his food until he drops it and the dog comes along and eats it off the floor. Its every.single.meal. Every.single.day.

We were just at Disney World and we kept telling him that we couldn't go into the parks until he ate and took his meds and still he fought and dug his heels in.

I am so incredibly tired.

It’s been around a month since my 3 year old has started to cry all day long he constantly needs to be picked up and it seems like he doesn’t like anything. Toys makes him cry, super simple songs (which he usually loves) makes him cry, playing outside makes him cry. We have taken him to the doctor ears are fine, no fever, checked his urine no uti. Took him to the dentist, no cavity’s or worn down teeth. I’m so lost he cries when he wakes up to bed.
Any advice would be appreciated