I hope we can keep the debate of his GM skills out of this thread and can recognize this for what it is: a look into the life and daily challenges of a member of our Dolphins family. Interesting read.
Tough S.O.B. He deals with this at home, which will carve a part of your soul right out of as any parents knows, and then takes the **** he does at his job, without for the most part ever saying a damn thing about it. People are entitled to their opinions for whatever reason, but he's a tough bugger - I'll give him that.
Facing the same issue in my own home, I can tell you that it can be difficult to garner empathy in your work place when you are working with huge egos that complain about the littlest crap. you have to put on a rock-face for your family. might be why Ireland sometimes comes across as pretty cold.
Character...check.. Rootin for him to knock this season out of the park so some support and enthusiasm can come in to their lives, instead of mindless hate.
I feel his pain, my 6 yr old daughter was diagnosed with autism when she was 3. It is a daily struggle
My cousin has aspergers. Took them years to properly diagnose him. As in he was in middle school. Now he works with my uncle selling insurance. Pretty proud of him.
yeah, Aspergers can be more difficult to diagnose. I know two kids with it, both of which were also diagnosed in middle school. my daughter has mild-to-moderate autism, but throw on top a heavy dose of SPD (sensory processing disorder) along with some anxiety disorder and it can be a real challenge sometimes. just getting her to eat something other than pizza and mashed potatoes (and candy) can be the hardest part of the day.
We diagnosed at 2 1/2, but only because when we moved to Boston from Atlanta she completely stopped talking for a whole year. wouldn't even respond to her own name when we called it out. I'm just venting here because I don't talk about this stuff at work.
Thats awesome. My seven year old nephew was diagnosed with autism, lucky for us one of our sisters works with autistic kids and has a masters is child development, but I imagine most families don't have resources like we do.
Yeah I look my girl and see how smart she is, but the struggle to conveyit. My. Daughter is also mild to moderate. She is a blessing, she is definittely daddys little girl. Its a challengee yes, but worth every second
are there times where you can see something that reassures you of some hope? Or connection, glimpses?
The part about immunizations triggering it and just the news lately about how a lot of these vaccines are causing a lot more serious problems than they are preventing is incredibly disturbing. Either way that situation has to be impossibly difficult.
As a young parent it's a scary gauntlet that many of us are forced into. You can't put your kids into many child care programs and public schools without having them. My wife and I go at it with DRs and spread the shots out as much as possible. They always comment on how "behind" they are. The fact is, you have kids with 2 and 3 generations of these vaccines already passed through from their parents. And now, for financial reasons, they combine many vaccines into 1 mega shot, and doctors turn a blind eye when 20lb babies are having horrific reactions. It's cronyism at its worst. They go by the "book" but it's truly unchartered waters. I have a niece and nephew in the autistic spectrum, but their parents tireless fight through diet and therapy has made all the difference. These kids are on the path to normal lives. My niece, I'll never forget my sister in law the day after her one vaccine...she said it changed her daughter. And my sis in law is a doctor.
Reading through the comments on Armando's twitter from the tweet of the story...there are some terrible people who root for the Dolphins. A few people saying this is just Jeff trying to get sympathy. Some people just can't stop their hatred. Even for human beings they've never even met and have no idea what they're going through. Pathetic people. Anyway, I won't pretend to know how difficult this is for Ireland and his wife but I know it must be hell. I wish them all the best of luck and all the peace in the world.
I sympathize with him, and have given money to Marino's foundation.... But every single year..there is an article about this around this time...and leave it Super Hack Armando to be the one to roll it out this year.
Armando always writes this same kind of article at this time every year. He finds a high ranking Dolphins employee and he writes a positive propaganda piece about him. It's the reason he's in bed with the entire front office.
she's much more responsive and very happy, much of that to do with the 3 years of physical, occupational and speech therapy. I'm completely broke and going deeper in the red from buying a home in Concord, MA, but it's worth it because of the great care and attention I've gotten the past 3 years, especially now that she's in kindergarten. I still have my doubts she'll ever live a normal life, but there's hope she can at least get some kind of job, which is important since autism focuses so much on routines. I find the key is to find something that triggers the brain, something that excites her, and then she's much more talkative and almost normal. For example, we spend 9-10 days every summer in Disneyworld, completely immersed in the resorts (part of the reason I'm broke), but it's worth every penny because she is immersed in a positive sensory environment, dances, sings, you name it.
Each case is diff. In my case she has had many. Avances while still many issues. That is one reeason that it irks me that only9 states at the moment require ins co. cover autism therapies. ABT or EBt (extensive behavoria therapies) have shown greeat progress. A 6 yr old in Minn tested normal after 3 yrs of ebt. But is very expensive and exhausting hours each day My daughter can now have reciprical conversations when 3 yrs ago she really struggled. She used to say"does mya want to eat" or "are you hungry" because she could only repeat exactly what she heard. Now she will say " i want some waffles daddy" Other kids are more severe and cannot communicate verbally so in essence the severity dictates what they can do. But they are making huge strides eac day in therapies.
The article the other day about the young, SEVERELY autistic boy who spent years bashing his own face was really heart wrenching, but seeing how he's responding to a few liquid doses of medical marijuana a day was remarkable. Basically the same principle as all the techniques we used to do every night before bed - like wrapping her in a blanket and swinging her back and forth to calm her senses (and her brain) so she could relax enough to sleep. While I think it would do wonders for my daughter's sensory processing disorder portion of autism, it's not severe enough to try at this age.
After reading some of the personal stories here dealing with autism, I give you guys all the credit in the world for just getting by, trying to keep on a happy face, and even having any time to devote to a football team, let alone the way you all do. I have two daughters, 5 and 8, with no developmental issues in any way, and they keep me busy and stressed enough. You all who manage so well with the cards you've be dealt, with love and devotion, are my heroes! Best of luck going forward!
Irealnd usually goes on all the radio shows around this time of year too to promote the foundation and talk about the Dolphins, but I don't know if he did this year. Certainly it's a tough situation and I have great sympathy for him and his family. Luckily he has a high paying job with excellent health benefits, I am sure. Unfortunately for him that high pay and good benefits comes with having tot ake a lot of heat from the public. Have to take the good with the bad
Not many are as big of a Firelander than me, but give the guy respect.. He's tough. Those jerk Dolphins fans you referred to in your post remind me of those loonies who think Sandy Hook was staged.. No respect.
I understand where you're going with this, I think, but I don't know if this is the best way to say it though. I don't think 'propaganda' is appropriate for a description of the piece. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slagging you, just saying that may not be the best way to illiterate your thoughts.
I'm just sick of Armando writing stuff like this because I suspect I know the reason why he wrote this, he's been highly critical of the organization and Ireland in particular over the last few months and with free agency coming up he needs to write a fluff piece so that he can get back in bed with him.
I hear you, I was just saying that the particular words used may not have been the best given the subject of the piece - highlighting the difficulties of having children with this condition. I knew where you were going with it, and I certainly wasn't trying to take you to taks for it.
Stay strong man. It's the small mercies that can keep you going. Its amazing what someone so small and unassuming can bring into another's life. Amazing what having children can do for you. I often wonder what the **** was I doing before I did this? And why did I think any of it was important..........the most important tings are usually right under your nose, or in the case of children; under your feet (in the best possible way). I love being a dad, and I love watching them achieve things - anything. It makes me smile. Being a dad makes me a better person, and here I thought I was teaching them things - many times its the other way around.
I swear man, if I ever seen one of those pieces of sh&$ say something like that, I'm throwin blows.. No wonder this culture has deteriorated..no wonder we get passed over by players and coaches.
My profession involves working with individuals with autism. Been doing it for over 25 years. I am not a parent of a child with autism, but have been in many homes where autism affects the entire family. No two persons with autism behave alike. Very different variations. The twin situation for Ireland has to be interesting.