Sunday 31 December 2017

SEND and SpectrumSunday #64 - Happy Hogmanay

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Happy New Year's Eve!  The festive season has been pretty overwhelming though mostly in a good way and still left me exhausted.  Our kids are back to school this week (though on different days) but I'm completely unprepared regards uniforms etc.  However, I've managed to pull myself together for our SEND and Spectrum Sunday linky.

Friday 29 December 2017

Looking back at our big moments from 2017

David, our autistic son, looking back through a window on a train journey

The year is drawing to an end!  How has our last year been?  Looking back for us it's been a series of highs and lows, as always.  Here's my monthly top picks of things I'd like to share with you from 2017.

Wednesday 27 December 2017

Our captured shots from 2017

Photos including three children watching pengiuns, a boy jumping in red wellington boots, a girl painting in a hallway in the sunlight, a boy on a beach, and centered around a photo of a family walking in the mountains


As 2017 comes to a close, I've looked back through the moments captured on our instagram, picked my favourite photographs and written about what they mean to us. 

Friday 22 December 2017

'Stop Here Santa' Christmas Wreath Kids Craft

Stop Here Santa Christmas Wreath Kids Craft

Make sure the man in red stops at your place and keep the kids busy with this fun and easy craft that helps motor skills development too.

Thursday 21 December 2017

What my kids did for Christmas that made me cry


It's only a few days before Christmas.  The excitement is getting to many of us.  On the way home from the last day of school, Jane bursts into tears.  It's not unusual, yesterday she was crying because she wanted it to be Christmas everyday and it couldn't be.  Then she said something that made me choke up.

Tuesday 19 December 2017

The day I hid I had kids with disabilities

Boy in park with red posts

It can be difficult to treat yourself when your kids have disabilities.  It's simply difficult to leave our kids with anyone so getting time to go to a spa for a treatment is fairly rare.  Sometimes the hubby and I get time out by ourselves, and on a special occasion,  I may even spend that time with just me.   And that's just what happened when I recently spent my spa voucher I got as a gift.

Thursday 14 December 2017

Huge rise in SEND appeals is not a surprise

Boy looking out a window into the black

The latest statistics revealed this morning (14 December) by the Ministry of Justice show the number of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) appeals registered in the last academic year has risen by a huge 27% or over 1,000 cases to 4,725 appeals.  Sadly, I'm not surprised.

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Getting our family out for activities

Boy, girl and father sitting on log in the park with warm coats and gloves on

Whether it's at home or while we are away, getting the kids outside is a must even though it's not always easy.  David, like many kids with autism has virtually no sense of danger, and his older autistic brother is petrified that David might get hurt.  Jane is only four still so can get tired if we are out for too long.  Exploring can be too unpredictable too.

Tuesday 12 December 2017

How to start helping my autistic son to understand money

Boy looking out of window at city

It's not unusual for the kids to be sent money in amongst their Christmas gifts from relatives (if I'm lucky, I still get some too).   But unlike our daughter Jane who thinks about what she may be able to buy, to at least one of my son's a five pound note is little more than a plasticky piece of pretty paper and the other has only just started to get an understanding of it's value.

Monday 11 December 2017

Autumn-to-Winter Tree motor-skills kids craft activity

Autumn leaves motor skills and understanding kids craft activity materials

This is a lovely activity we've updated that develops motor skills and promotes understanding of what's happening in nature around now.

Friday 8 December 2017

How our autistic and neurotypical family visited SantasGrotto

Autistic boy with iphone and rest of family with Santa

Visiting Father Christmas can be a few moments of magic in the chaotic run up to Christmas.  Faces alight, beaming smiles and kids playing on iPhones.  What, playing on iPhones?  OK, so that's one of things that we have when our autistic kids visit a Santa's Grotto, but this year it didn't matter at all.

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Five reasons to get baking with the kids this Christmas

Christmas Star Biscuits with icing

Ask anybody what the benefits of baking with the kids are and they’ll tell you that’s obvious, you get to eat lots of delicious cakes at the end of it. True, that is one of the great benefits of baking with your children, but that’s only the end result. There’s so much that they can learn along the way and it’ll actually improve their skills and learning in a lot of different ways that you may not have considered. And Christmas is a great time to start and take advantage of more than just yummy outcomes.

Monday 4 December 2017

My daughter wants to be a King

Girl wearing a golden crown in the sunshine

When the parent mail pounced on my inbox, I sighed.  'Reception Nativity Costumes' it said. Of course, many reception parents delight in the excitement of the first nativity play.  As a mum of three, I've seen a fair few.  We've also had the chaos of costumes mixed in with two autistic boys.  'At least that won't be the case with Jane' I smiled to myself as I opened up the email.  So true, in fact, Jane's costume chaos cheered me up no end.

Sunday 3 December 2017

SEND and SpectrumSunday #62

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Welcome to December.  As the song goes "It's cold outside, but warm bed".  If only I had the chance of getting any sleep recently.  David's been up a lot in the last week or so and I 'm shattered! But, I've managed to pull myself together for our SEND and Spectrum Sunday linky.

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