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Telling someone about your autism or putting a message on clothing items or an accessory to wear or keep on you is not labelling. It is a way of explaining something about yourself (or your child) that is not visually recognisable to others who will need to know in order to understand how to interact/help/teach/work with/know you (your child) better.        A parent of a child who had a mild hearing problem or sensitivity to light or difficulty sitting still, would tell the teacher because it is something about their child that the teacher needs to know so...

Giving always makes one feel SO good. It's a therapy in a way. Whether it's giving in the form of a meal for friends or a birthday gift or thank you card, or simply volunteering your time, or even just a compliment to a stranger (who in today's world would only think you're a weirdo). It just does make anyone feel really good about themselves and we could all do with a bit of that now, couldn't we? There is also the giving that we don't even know we're doing, as in with our friends, that makes friendship such a...

Transitioning. An impressive looking and sounding word, is it not? I have only now looked it up in the Oxford Concise and the definition goes like this: Transition = “the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another”. Interesting synonyms were: change, move, passage, adjustment, shift, switch. And then it goes into the whole gender transition thing…The definition is straightforward enough and makes perfect sense, most parents have heard of it re the move from primary to high school. However, I clearly remember standing at the entrance to Henry’s specialist ‘school’ in Singapore when he...

Thinking casually about therapy for parents/caregivers of autistic children and how we deal with the sleep deprivation, exhaustion and stress be it coffee, sleep, wine, spa days, reading, exercise etc. Plus highlighting what summer holidays can be like for families living life with autism and recommended t-shirts, accessories and reads.

My knowledge and experience with children who have autism do not go beyond Henry on a personal level, and a class of 9 or so beautiful students who are older and attend an autism unit attached to a mainstream primary that I only volunteer at one day a week. Trust me, us autism Mums do not exactly organise play dates! This is a shame in a way since I remember needing those Mums and babes get-togethers and toddler playdates so much with my other two children. They keep you sane and connected and informed and supported. And that is SO...