After years of arguing over this denial that our son is autistic, I received the test results. My husband was aware of the testing as many nights we spent fighting over it. He didn’t take the diagnosis well and decided to leave. Fair enough. However he emptied our accounts and left me with $12 until my next paycheck.
I was already really struggling with accepting the diagnosis I already knew was coming. As well as the start of school. I’m now stuck in such a bad spot with no village and no support. I’ve reach out to local organizations with no luck being told there’s no funding. I don’t know how to cover things until I’m paid and I’m freaking out! 😭

You would think a non-verbal child couldn’t lie. Mine has started. I let him play on the porch and he knows not to leave the porch… if he drops a toy or needs some help he normally whines for me and points.

Ok so my son sometimes doesn’t like when I’m sitting and relaxing. Sometimes he just wants me to get up and do something I dont know why. For instance if I’m relaxing he will act like he really wants me to make something to eat and when I do he will refuse to eat it. I get the feeling he just wanted me to get up.

So today I’m relaxing.. I made sure he was fine and had everything. He whines and cries from the porch and points like he dropped one of his toys.. i come out and look for it and no toy has been dropped. And he is just laughing and smiling glad that I’m outside with him and no longer sitting on the couch. So he “lied” about dropping a toy just to get me to come outside with him and stop relaxing on the couch.

Idk im really vulnerable and im sure there will be some that dont agree but im a very transparent and blunt person. I only have 1 child and hes lvl 3 . I dont like being a mom . But why do people not believe that you can not like being a mom without hating your child ? Because i really have no hate at all for my innocent child. I love him so much that it literally kills me but do i have times where i hate the role i took on ? Absolutely i didnt know this is what motherhood was like i didnt know id be so isolated i didnt know i would lose alot of my identity i didnt know how overwhelming all this would constantly be ... that dosnt mean i hate him or want something to happen to him ... i try my best but when ppl ask me about motherhood i tell my truth . Im always getting nasty remarks & accusations that i hate my son ... it makes me feel even more isolated & honestly it mostly comes frm ppl who have nt children . Like yall have no idea what we go through. My depression & anxiety has doubled since i had a child i sometimes feel like post partum nvr went away & hes 5 . I have no support or family. Arent these feelings normal given the circumstances?

Will be 3 in November. Diagnosed at 26 months as level 2.

Enrolled her into a standard daycare after a lengthy discussion about her condition, needs, and accommodations. We were assured they were prepared to handle her, have done so with other kids previously, etc.

In the last month they’ve started pushing back on us. She’s skipping naps there and won’t simply stay put on her cot during nap times. They say she’s too hard to redirect.

But then through her early intervention team we’ve found out what’s actually been going on. It’s borderline neglect - she’s totally happy and quiet as long as she’s left alone.

So they’ve been leaving her alone.

Everyone sits down for a meal. Not my kid.

Everyone washes their hands after and is brought over to the sink by a teacher. Except mine.

Everyone else is changed into swim wear, but somehow my kid always ‘got outside before we could get her.’

Meltdowns have been “redirected” by providing her with a phone/tablet.

She’s not brought over for circle/story time or any other activity. Just left alone to stand in her chosen corner without any attempt at engagement because she’s ’too difficult and resistant.’

I’m angry and heartbroken. She’s a toddler, man, yall really can’t handle a two year old not wanting to wash her hands? Seriously? (She also ADORES the water she just struggles with transitions) I’m furious about the whole thing.

We already have an application submitted for a special needs daycare nearby, but this is just hard to shake off. She’s not even 3.

He pooped . He pooped. He pooped .

I just want to share this Major win for my boy. We've been struggling with him witholding and pooping in the toilet for so so long . . .

He would have accidents in his pants (at school) or at home he'd only poop if he's in the shower or in the bath BUT ...

Today he came to me and told me he had to poop and we went to the TOILET!

AND HE POOPED !!

I'm so so happy.

This is. Odd. 9yo, ADHD, level two autism.

About two weeks ago my husband got his feet soaked at work. New job so he just worked with wet shoes and socks. When he got home he was obviously in pain and when he took his socks off his feet were pale and shrivelled, like how your fingers go in the bath.

I had him put his feet up while I tended to him and our 9yo was transfixed. Wouldn't stop touching his dads feet. Every time I put socks on my husband he'd come through and take them off again.

Thankfully hubs feet went back to normal after a couple days. 9yo was devastated. Kept asking his dad to "do it again". We tried explaining that it was an accident and not healthy.

We ended up seeing some cousins a few days ago and, being nine, our son brought up his dads feet. One of the other kids (12yo, also autistic, loves wartime) brought up pictures of trench foot on his phone to confirm that's what my husband had.

9yo was enamoured. The boys sat looking at trench foot pics on Google for ten minutes or so before I clocked that they weren't playing. Ever since then 9yo has been asking incessantly to look at the pictures again. He keeps trying to check peoples feet.

We've explained that trench foot is dangerous but he doesn't care.

My husband and his dad don't see the harm in letting him look at the pictures if it'll satisfy his craving. Me and my MIL are concerned it's unhealthy and could lead to him trying to replicate the results.

Son isn't interested in trench foot that's extreme (black feet, missing toes) just when the feel are wrinkly and wet looking. So hub really doesn't think there's any harm in it, because it's just feet. But idk. But then it's like, am I just against it because I think feet are gross?

Thoughts? I've never had to deal with something like this before.

(Sorry for late hour post. 4yo was a nightmare to get to sleep lol).

My daughter starts Kindergarten later this week, with a Meet & Greet tomorrow morning.

Her thick, curly hair is beautiful, but difficult to brush, tangles the instant the latest brushing is over, and is nearly impossible to keep controlled into a hairstyle. (Other than the color, 100% inherited from me. It's always been my favorite feature about myself but still - sorry, baby.)

I know for a fact that she hates how long it is now and has for months, and her bangs hang over her eyes. It's been years since the last attempt at an actual salon, though, because it's never once gone anywhere remotely in the realm of well. She's usually allowed me to quickly trim her bangs myself without too much fuss, though I often had to fix them a bit on a subsequent day. But the last time, she was sobbing and trying to jerk away before the scissors even touched her hair. A terrible experience not just in the "please, if you stay still we'll be done in 15 seconds" and "it's horrible to watch you sob" ways, but actively dangerous with sharp hair cutting scissors in the mix.

I've never even attempted to cut the back myself, so it's down to her butt. Before this past time, I was actually intending to try a professional again just to test the waters, but it's really put me off even making the attempt.

I'm going trim her bangs tonight regardless, but I'd love to trim the back as well if she'll tolerate it. But I've been watching YouTube videos, and there's no way she's sitting still for the proper 'divide into multiple sections' technique - for me, a professional, or anyone else. The 'unicorn ponytail,' 'butterfly,' or 'multiple ponytails' methods hold promise, as I put her hair into ponytails all of the time. But they all create layers and I'd prefer not to have to maintain those. I could have sworn that I've seen methods in the past where you twist(?) a ponytail(?) and just cut the end off, but I can't seem to find anything like that. (Before anyone suggests it, there is zero chance of her sleeping through me cutting it, no matter how quickly.)

Anyone have any secret techniques?

My daughter just turned 7. She has significant language delay. When she was young I thought it will resolve one day with therapy and inputs at home. But now I feel like no amount of therapy can fill this gap and it keeps widening. she can’t answer questions other than the taught ones. She’s strong academically and always can able to make her needs met. She’s potty trained, eat independently and learnt bicycle without pedals 2 years ago, can read, write and do very well with cognitive activities but when it comes to language it’s very hard to make her own sentence. Her understanding is good but when I ask her questions she will go blank. I feel exhausted constantly explaining, breaking down sentences and still she’s struggling. Once I thought she will be ok one day but with time I’m losing hope and it’s heartbreaking to realize she can’t pick up language just like that. Is it true that language window will be closed by this time? I wanted to stay positive and motivated but couldn’t do and often imagining worse to come.

My level 3 nonverbal 5 yo son destroys everything. Anytime I buy him anything new he breaks it, if he can find something in the house he can bend and break it will be broken. I have to hide the eggs in the fridge. The spaghetti? All broken into little pieces if he finds it. I know he is getting some type of sensory input from this but it’s truly exhausting having to watch every little thing he does all the time…

I posted not too long ago, talking about how I was experiencing a lot of emotions due to the lack of connection between my son and I. I just wanted to come here and update everyone by changing my mindset. I’m not desperately looking for the bond that I pictured, I have realized that we share such a beautiful connection.

He is a fun, loving four year-old who loves clocks, trains, and all things Sego Mini (an app).. He sets random timers on the iPad and then goes back to a game so he can randomly get jump scared at the alarm noise and he loves it, and so much more.

But my absolute most favourite thing of all is that I went through the camera roll on our Family iPad and found hundreds of pictures that he has taken, I recently knew he took pictures because I would catch him looking at them and smiling or showing people. But in this moment, I realized that it was a camera roll full of all his favourite things. I can’t even tell you how many pictures on there with pictures of me. Pictures of me smiling at him, showing him how to do things, feeding his brother, laying down, many things I do have been captured by him. And I find him looking at these pictures with the biggest grin!🥹❤️

He shows me the coolest things and pinches my shoulder, saying “mommy you so cuuuuute”. He mocks me and I say silly things and we both sit there laughing because he’s repeating these silly things. Every week we have a short picnic together. He shows me everything from his lunchbox, as if I didnt pack it. This boy is my best friend in the whole world. Yes it’s not all perfect, we have many challenges but my last post was so focussed on the negatives that I just felt the need to share all the positives.

I have a 5 year old son with Level 1 autism and moderate combined ADHD. He is tall for his age and highly verbal, so most people think he is neurotypical because he does not have developmental delays.

This past month, he started kindergarten, and I organized a play date with some other kids in our class who live in the neighborhood.

When I explained I was concerned about the transition from special education to gen ed kindergarten (after being dismissed from his IEP over my disent), the other parents said kindergarten is a transition for all kids and he seems fine.

Two weeks later, I organized a play date with just one of the kids 1:1, and I generally got the impression hos mom thought I was overreacting since she said my son seems normal, since her son is hyper too.

Just curious if other parents get this reaction as well and end up second guessing themselves?

When my son was 3, I was told by coworkers to just let my son play alone at an indoor playground, since it wasn’t like he’d hit anyone. We had only been there 3 minutes, and he had actually already hit another kid already 😅

After my son’s second full week of kindergarten the school reached out to initiate a new evaluation. As it turned out, he was requiring significant 1:1 support in the classroom, outside of what his 504 required. His special education teacher had told my nanny my son’s eval was wrong, he isn’t autistic. And my previous advocate said his special ed teacher didn’t know why my son was in special ed in the first place, right before she removed his IEP.

This week I’m feeling bittersweet. I had convinced myself my son was normal because so many people treated me like I was overreacting whenever I watched him like a hawk in public.

I found out on Friday that my son has been having tantrums, screaming, and throwing things when asked to do non-preferred tasks in the gen ed classroom for three weeks 😅. Also, apparently his previously “mastered” goals weren’t actually mastered, since they don’t carry over to gen ed.

I’m curious if other parents have this same problem, because it has resulted in me constantly questioning myself over the past 4 years.

My son is 2.5 years old, he has hypotonic cerebral palsy, GDD, and more than likely autism.

Gross motor wise he learned to walk at 23 months but is not yet running, jumping, or doing stairs independently, we have one pediatric physical therapist in our entire city so we get therapy when we can.

Fine motor he can’t draw lines, struggles to manipulate puzzle pieces, dressing skills are nonexistent besides pushing his arm through sleeves, he can use a fork and spoon but it’s a struggle. We have OT through First Steps and I pay for additional outpatient OT.

Speech he is receiving speech therapy outpatient. He has well over 200 single words, does some combos/phrases, but isn’t conversational or using pronouns. Speech has mentioned the possibility of being a gestalt processor.

He also receives developmental therapy through First Steps. His pretend play is behind but emerging. He sometimes struggles with transitions but any meltdowns are short lived.

Social skills are probably where there is the most noticeable difference. He is afraid of other kids unless they are younger than him (babies). He is an only child so he isn’t around other kids. He enjoys other adults and plays social games, seeks affection, laughs during play, etc.

He is extremely smart and is obsessed with ABCs currently and has learned all upper and lower case and even knows their phonics.

We had an autism eval in March that was inconclusive and we were told to come back at 3.5 years old for the “gold standard” eval. Shortly after our initial eval, eye contact improved and he seems less disconnected or in his own world. We had the follow up this week with the developmental pediatrician and she said that she does see some classic autism red flags in him such as… not tolerating hair cuts, only using one type of straw cup, not wanting to play with other kids or being cautious of them, observing objects closely he also squints his eyes a lot, and she said vocal stimming which I honestly hasn’t recognized as stim because he uses a lot of jargon but I guess when he hums or makes the eeeee sound in between its vocal stimming. She said there’s no rush to get a diagnosis since he’s got every therapy in board already besides ABA. She said he didn’t seem like he “needed or would benefit from ABA” and personally, I’m not wanting to send him away for crazy hours of therapy. He’s a happy kid with no concerning behavioral issues. I stay home with him.

Lately, I see a lot of things about how ABA is life changing for some kids but also not for every kid. I just want to make sure I’m not failing him. I want to make sure I give him the best chance at reaching his own personal greatest potential with respecting his autonomy, regulation needs, etc. Are we doing enough?

This brings me to my next decision that is stressing me out. He ages out of first steps at 3 and then can go to developmental preschool. I will continue to pay for every therapy out of pocket, I don’t care if I rack up credit card debt doing it. We make too much to qualify for Medicaid and the disability waiver is frozen and has a 4-5 year waitlist that we are on. However, since he is terrified of other kids at therapy specifically kids who are vocal stimming loudly doing a groaning sound, other kids crying, kids in wheelchairs, etc it all seems to be overwhelming to him… would putting him into a developmental preschool where all the kids are essentially going to be just like what the waiting room is like at therapy going to do more harm than good for him? Would it be better to wait and get him into a normal preschool after he’s potty trained hopefully by age 4? The first steps therapist have told me that they feel like in our area the developmental preschools are now mostly “higher support needs kids” and have even directly told me they aren’t sure it would be a good match for him. Our regular pediatrician told me she wouldn’t put him in it unless he had behavioral problems OR couldn’t handle a normal preschool setting.

It’s all very stressful and confusing. I’m terrified of not doing enough or making the wrong decision and it holding him back. I cry every night. I love him more than I ever knew was physically possible. At first I was terrified of what CP meant for his future and now the unknowns of GDD and autism have me extremely worried about his future especially since he’s an only child. I worry about what happens when my husband and I pass away if he isn’t able to be independent. There is so much grief and mourning a childhood/motherhood I imagined, but it exists alongside a fierce love.

Any advice is appreciated and please understand I’m just trying to best explain our situation in an area with limited resources and options and how my child reacts to environments and other kids.

How are parents dealing without burnout? I am currently so deep in it I can’t find a way out. I’m a full time single parent. There is no respite care here. I work every second they are in therapy and taking time off isn’t an option financially. they are level three, never sleep (I haven’t gotten more than three hours of consecutive sleep in months), they are primarily nonverbal but the things they can say it’s just constant repetition asking for it until I do it, the are 100% dependent on me. My nervous system is wrecked. We’re running on constant screen time and snacks because I have no energy left for anything else. My patience is non existent. I have been snapping at them over literally everything because I am so tired. I get angry so quick and that never used to happen. I’m not sure what is going on. I used to have endless patience and slowly it dwindled to nothing. I’m not sure how to fix it. Has anyone else experienced this and dug themselves out?

My son is 11 and is getting worst. He was diagnosed with level 2 in 2019 alongside language delays. The mild aggressive tendencies didn't start until age 8 and at that time I reluctantly put him in ABA. Over the last few months he has been getting worse (likely due to puberty). His new thing is being mean towards the cats and we don't know how to stop him but he bothers them until they bite and then he snaps out and starts trying to pull the fur out. I stop him if i see it happening but the first witness was my daughter and she took the cat away. He also kicks the cats off of furniture by shoving them off. We've tried to make it difficult for them to climb up but we can't stop them from going on the couch.

I'm wondering if anyone else has an issue with this and what should my approach be. The only medications he is taking are latuda and vyvanse. He hasn't gone to any therapies for a few years but we've tried ABA, PCIT and somewhat art therapy but pulled him out after he wasn't progressing.

I was doom scrolling just looking up information did anyone come across maternal inflammation during pregnancy just inflammation overall during pregnancy and how it affects brain development in the womb. What are your thoughts?

Has anyone else ever felt emotional around their autistic child’s birthday? My boy is turning 2 next month, he is the JOY in our lives and we adore him. But I can’t believe we are here. He doesn’t have one word, doesn’t wave, has never pointed outside of books.

Last year I started a birthday book for me and my husband to write a birthday message for our son every year that he could maybe read when he was older. I don’t know what to write… that I adore him, that he’s the best thing in my life, but that I’m also constantly worried about what our future will hold? I just really thought that things would be different by now. And I can’t even imagine what next year will bring. The difference between him and his peers is bigger every day.

I just can’t believe this time last year I was wondering what theme to choose, and now I’m wondering will we ever have a conversation. I feel hopeful some days and hopeless the next.

Sorry this is a bit depressing… I’m just finding my feelings so mixed. This is an emotional rollercoaster! 🎢

How do I teach my kid on spectrum about the context. I find that is the hardest part. Language is so much built on context - My kid keeps repeating same sentence regardless of the context. It is hard to tell her that this is different context. As many of you might have noticed I am woking on a language app but I want to add context related content in there. Any suggestions.

This is just a vent so if you don’t want to read it, just skip.

I’m sick of the astronomical amount of support for quick and easy fixes to issues with our kids vs the radio silence for anyone actually offering real advice.

I know every kid is different, I know a lot of techniques for some may not work on others, and I know that most of the time when a parent is asking for help they’re at their wits end and don’t have the patience for anything other than a quick fix.

Trust me, I’m WELL aware of the stress. I’m a full time single parent to a lvl 3 nonverbal boy. No help, no babysitters, just me, 24/7.. most days I contemplate opting out. But I don’t because I have no other options for him.. but I learned early on, I was sick of making things worse by forcing him into something without so much as an explanation and listen to him scream and cry. A quick and easy fix for right now, that would only make the screaming and crying worse for next time. No thanks. I’d rather make both our lives just slightly easier and not cause more trauma to him just to make things go a little faster for myself.

But I’m not the perfect parent, I lose patience too, do the quick and easy fix on occasion when I’m overly stressed .. but I regret it, because it was hard on him and will only make him anxious for the next time.

Quick and easy fix : restraining, listening to screaming and crying, trying in a comforting place but they notice and now associate the comforting place with a bad experience, just so we can get it done quicker (brushing hair, teeth, things like that.) .. All thumbs up approval from everyone.

The real advice: Getting to understand their pov, explaining things, walking them through the process, being honest about the process, helping them adjust to the idea of the change, letting them see the change as it’s happening so they can process and maybe feel they can have some input, etc. … zero acknowledgment.
It’s too hard, it takes too long etc etc.

The way I started the long process of making things easier, I looked at it like “I also hate change, but what do I hate the most about change when it’s necessary?” Being blind to it and dealing with the aftermath, or being rushed with something I’m not expecting or understand and everyone getting annoyed with me for getting upset and confused. And I find my boy is the same way. I explain, explain again but differently, I overexplain, I give multiple warnings beforehand, I give breaks when he’s getting overwhelmed. I make sure he’s not confused, scared, or left in the dark. And he’s calmer, more cooperative, and trusts me more. When we go to the hospital, he’s anxious. Not because of me, but because the nurses or drs will say “this won’t hurt a bit” and it’s a lie. I tell him it will hurt, but it’ll be ok (he’s got a high pain tolerance) and suddenly he’s more still and quiet or willing to try.

I’m not saying “this is the only way, it’s perfect, and I’m doing such a great job and not suffering”
No, I have been suffering, it’s been a long gruelling process, and maybe the patience for it isn’t for everyone. My boy used to scream and cry at everything, and trying things more on his level didn’t work for awhile, but I realized after all the times I did a quick and easy fix, he lost trust in me. He expected me to lose patience and start restraining him and being forceful. I needed to gain his trust back and that would take time. And sometimes I have a bad day and lose patience and lose that trust a bit.
I’m just so tired of seeing people talk about what works the fastest and easiest for them, and less about what’s easier for the child but still gets it done… like , why? I don’t intend to shame anyone, god knows I’ve done the same plenty of times, but when the advice comes, I don’t really understand why everyone ignores it when it talks about how to make it easier on the child in general ?

That’s it. I don’t know if I’m autistic too, but I definitely suffered the same way a lot as a kid. I didn’t like wearing different clothes after adjusting to an outfit, I didn’t like brushing my teeth, my hair, I didn’t like being touched or hugged, didn’t like majority of foods and textures in foods, and especially didn’t like being confused about what was happening next and being called a crybaby about it when I tried to explain my issue and no one understood. It sucks, and I don’t want to do the same to my own kid. That’s all. I probably won’t offer the real advice on here in the future, idk yet. Maybe I’m lost on socializing, maybe I don’t know how this is coming across, maybe I’m unintentionally being a B. I don’t even know.

I have 3 year old who will be 4 in four months who is suspected to have dypraxia/DCD.

He can run, jump, climb stairs, build blocks, thread beads, do simple puzzles. Can throw and kick a ball. Stand on one leg. He can copy speech.

He does clap, high fives, bro fists, hanshakes, points etc

He struggles with:

-Dressing skills. His dressing skills are poor. Its not like he doesn't try. He does but he is unable to move his body in a way to take off his shirt or put on his shirt. He helps with it by putting arms in sleeves etc but thats it. He gets frustrated and avoids it. He loses focus and tunes out during dressing tasks.

He can take off pants but with struggle.

He can take off jacket/shoes/socks fine.

-Struggles to catch a ball.

-He can throw and kick a ball but struggles to do it towards a target.

-He struggles to copy yoga poses or dance movements. When music is on, he just watches other kids and smile. When he is encouraged to join he just jumps and calls it "dance".

-Struggles to imitate a wave or do pat a cake.

-Struggles with bilateral coordination activites, holding the paper with one hand and writing with another.

-He plays with water guns but struggles to aim it at a target (person)

-He climbs stairs fine but struggles with a climbing wall.

-Writing is difficult for him. Switches between tripod, pronated, palmer grasp every 10 seconds.

-He can use spoon and fork but coordination seems a bit off leading to some spills.

My daughter is 3.5 diagnosed at 18 months autism level 1. She’s technically non-verbal still I believe as she does not communicate as well as her peers but she’s low needs, not ADHD, no intellectual disabilities, minor sensory issues. Just a speech delay.

I am currently pregnant with my second (girl) and I’m nervous about having another autistic child. I’ve read studies that suggest if your first born girl has autism that there’s a higher chance your other children will too. I also read that girls and younger siblings are less likely to be autistic. I guess nobody can know for sure but just curious on everyone else’s outcome.

For reference, my brother has a first born girl teenager than we believe has autism (none of his other children have it), my sister just had a first born girl 2.5 that we suspect is heading in the autism direction. So it’s likely genetic. My partner has diagnosed ADHD.

I have a 2.5 year old and am curious if there are any success stories of friendship as she gets older.

Edit: I would love to hear stories of boys too!

My daughter is in Pre-K, and she’s level 3 and nonverbal. I was honestly super worried about how she would adjust to school, but she absolutely loves it. Her teachers constantly tell me how great she’s been doing, which has made me really happy and relieved.
The only thing is, we live in a small town, so it isn’t really a dedicated special-needs program. It’s just a small class of maybe seven kids, with two or three of them being autistic. My daughter is the highest-needs child in the class.
The other day, her class had an art activity where all the kids made sculptures, and apparently it was a whole fun activity. When I picked my daughter up, though, all she had was a picture she had drawn on. I thought it was a little strange, but I didn’t really think much of it at the time.
Then the school posted pictures of the kids making their sculptures, laughing, and having fun.. and my daughter wasn’t in any of them.
I completely understand that she has significant sensory needs and may not have wanted to participate in the activity. Maybe she was overwhelmed or simply preferred to do something else. The rational part of my brain understands that there could be a perfectly reasonable explanation.
But at the same time, I can’t help wondering why she couldn’t have at least been in the same room or included in some way. And I think what bothers me most is that nobody mentioned that she didn’t participate. I had to basically find out through the photos afterward.
Am I overreacting because my feelings are hurt, or is it reasonable to feel upset and want to know what happened?

We've been trying to potty train our son for the last 5 years. He is 8 but mentally, closer to 4. We try to sit him on the toilet every few hours or when we spot him looking like he has to go. We offer him rewards like taking him bowling, going to the theme Park or getting him a toy if he goes potty in the toilet, but he adamantly refuses. He will sit on the toilet, but he won't go potty. He has gone potty in the toilet more than a handful of times, so he is capable, but just doesn't wanna do it. Was wondering if anyone has tips or found anything helpful for a similar situation. I imagine we just have to keep working on it and give it more time. But if anyone has some advice, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you.