Walking on water with our autistic son

He turns away from the sunlight. It's bright... it's soo white. His eyes crease, his nose crinkles and his big brown eyes become little slits on a chubby looking face. He looks down, seeks the shade and seeks shelter from the wind behind me. But his isn't a bleak desert or an isolated part of the 'mid-west', this is simply our son David, at the beach.

30 hours of free childcare may not be possible for autistic children like mine

When my eldest son, Anthony, turned three years old he received 15 hours of free childcare a week. This was really helpful and made it possible for me to continue working. When David turned three years old, he should have been entitled to the same amount. But that's not what happened. He got seven. David only got seven hours because he has autism - because he has additional needs. Looking back, I can't believe I let it happen.  And this week I'm wondering if this will be the same for children like mine when the government extend free childcare for some working families in a few weeks time.

MadeUpMilestones: Picnic blanket with @happylittlehugh

It's time for another #madeupmilestones guest post, where I get the privilege of sharing a special moment for someone.  And today, it's from Little Mama Murphy about a few seconds of magic as in on a picnic blanket and captured on camera.

Tips to take our autistic kids to dinner with @ArthurPrice1902

It's not that we've never been out to dinner with our family before.  It's more that it tends to have been a last resort.  We are on holiday and think it's too much for David to simply live on the toast we can make in our holiday apartment for two weeks.  We have somehow run out of food on holiday.  Or some other bizarre reason.

SEND and SpectrumSunday #54

Welcome back for Spectrum and SEND Sunday #54!  I hope this linky finds you coping ok with the break or even having a great time.  Whatever you are doing this summer, we are here to share it with you.

Camping with friends with mini sleeping bag craft

Many kids including those with autism like to know what's going to happen with something new. This could be a new place, new experience or even new people.  Some of our kids friends are going camping for the holidays.  Jane has even asked if maybe her friend can camp over.   This would be a big thing and I'm not sure we are quite there yet.  But we have been doing things recently to prepare the kids for a camping holiday and this easy motor-skills craft activity gets kids set for the idea of sleeping in a sleeping bag.

Parents with autistic kids need the right support

Becoming a parent can be easy for some, more difficult for others. Being a parent can be the same. Some take to it like a fish to water and for others it can be a daily struggle.  What must be really difficult is when your child’s autistic behaviour is misunderstood and as a result you are considered a bad parent.

WonderfulWednesday: SEND30DayChallenge via @mumsmissions

This month's wonderful Wednesday share isn't really a single post I found online.  It's a series I've found, all thanks to this idea of a Special Needs Bloggers 30 Day Challenge from Mum On A Mission.

Helping siblings with different abilities play together - Crouching Tigers

Sometimes it's difficult for the kids to play together - what am I talking about, a lot of the time it's difficult.  The holidays are upon us and this means less school mates and resorting to playing with siblings.  Two of our boys are autistic.  David is pre-verbal and thinks like a child half his age and Anthony also has ADHD.  Jane on the other hand is highly social and imaginative and desperate to play with her brothers.  This means we need to help them play and recently this means adapting games.  So we've created Crouching Tigers to help them play together.

Medal craft activity for the World @ParaAthletics Championship

Helping kids understand or engage with sports events can sometimes be a challenge whether they have autism or not.  As the World Para Athletics Championships are in full swing, why not engage them with a fun medals activity.  This craft activity we did at Me Too & Co has some great ways for developing motor skills and can celebrate your own achievements or games.