Sunday 30 April 2017

The security of a bedtime routine

Jane getting into bed

Routines.  They keep our home ticking over. We've been following the same routines to get ourselves out the door ready for school for years.  Whenever there was a change needed, we've given time for the routine to change, notice of it happening and sometimes, we even did trial runs.  And it's exactly the same for getting the kids to bed.

Thursday 27 April 2017

Making a tiny bit of time mummy's

Jane gets a nap in

I was reading an interesting post from Lucy at Home about how, as a mum, it's easy to be the bottom priority in the family.  I love my children and they are the world to me, but it can seem like there isn't a second to rest.  There are things I simply feel I must do.  I must get to their various appointments, make sure they are safe, teach them how they can function in a world not built for them. Perhaps having kids with additional needs has highlighted just how much support they need.

Wednesday 26 April 2017

WonderfulWednesday: oktosay via @heads_together

Royal Family #itsoksay

This week's wonderful Wednesday share was found on Heads Together through their twitter feed. It's a fantastic video staring some members of the Royal Family chatting about the normalcy of mental health and how talking about it helps.

Tuesday 25 April 2017

Siblings, lies and untruths

Anthony and Jane in the playground

"That's a lie."

"No, it's not."

I can not even hazard a guess at how many times I've heard this exchange in our house over the last few weeks. Part of this is due to Anthony, our eight year old autistic son who has never told me a lie in his life.  Never.  And he also has difficulty in understanding when someone is lying, and someone is playing or joking around.

Thursday 20 April 2017

He is perfect.. and he has a disability


A friend of mine went to a museum not long ago and had the following conversation when she got the the ticket desk.  I think it tells some interesting truths.

Wednesday 19 April 2017

WonderfulWednesday: Celebrating the runner via @brightvibes_com


This week's wonderful Wednesday share came via Bright Vibes and was a video from autismrunners.com. Alex and Jamie are autistic and completely dependent, needing 24 hour supervision. They can be very challenging, and at times, have extremely severe behaviours. But this isn't how I found out about these twin brothers. I was just watching a marathon clip.

Tuesday 18 April 2017

Do you have Magic Fairy Wings?

Jane playing fairy

Jane just loves dressing up and role play. Put a foil pencil in her hand and she is a magical fairy or a prince with a sword.   A pirate hat makes her pink beard(!?), pirate of the rainbow seas and when she flips it around she's an astronaut in a rocket and 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... she's blasted off the back of the sofa and landed on cushion moon. But it's not that easy for all my kids.

Thursday 13 April 2017

MadeUpMilestones: Finally holding my daughter by @TrishaKatkin

Child wearing socks

This month's #madeupmilestones is a little different. Sensory Processing Disorder is complex. The term itself encompasses so many various types of people. From the ones that like to be hugged, to the ones that run away at every cost, SPD affect everyone differently. While some love the smell of dirty laundry, others begin to gag.

Here Trisha answers our three questions; who has achieved their #madeupmilestone, when and where did the #madeupmilestone happen, and the fab part... what happened, as she tells us about her glorious and wonderful eldest daughter, who is Tactile Defensive.

Monday 10 April 2017

When your three year old daughter plays the mother

Jane by the river

No one plans to be the mother to autistic children.  It's almost impossible to do so.  But no one plans to have a daughter playing the role of mother when she is just three years old either. I've been trying to work out if this is a happy post or a sad post.. and I'm still not sure.

Thursday 6 April 2017

My son's Transport of the Future

Anthony with his arms out like an aircraft

Anthony has long had a special interest in vehicles.  I remember the year he started school he got both a giant digger and replica model cars for his Christmas.  His younger brother David got more additions to his wooden train set that year too. Lately it's developed into a greater interest specifically into cars.

Wednesday 5 April 2017

WonderfulWednesday: Practice going to the cinema via @cuddlefairy

popcorn in a bowl

I've come across so much to share over the last week.  It's World Autism Awareness Week and that means I've been inundated with fantastic posts, videos etc. So perhaps I feel a bit weird by having this week's wonderful Wednesday post as nothing to do with autism or even special educational needs. It's just something that could make some lives a bit easier when out and about and that's a wonderful idea so here's a post from Cuddle Fairy on making a cinema at home.

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Easter Rabbit Toast activity recipe & printable

Rabbit Toast

Make an Easter breakfast or lunch even more fun and get your kids practising their language and motor skills with this recipe activity and printable to make an Easter Rabbit in your toast.  This recipe activity contains egg.

Sunday 2 April 2017

Spectrum & SEND Sunday #46 - #WAAD2017

Spectrum & SEND Sunday on World Autism Awareness Day 2017

Welcome to Spectrum and SEND Sunday #46 and our World Autism Awareness Day 2017 special. We'd be delighted if you linked up your autism awareness posts but are also happy to have your special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and mental health posts as usual too.

Have a look at our most recent posts:

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