The Education for All bill and choosing a secondary school

 

The new Education for All bill, referred to in The King's speech, sets out some big ideas for world of education in the UK.  If you have any any experience of a SEND child in education you probably know that the current system is highly adversarial.  It feels like a child has be failing to prove they need support, and then you battle for two years to get that, whilst competing with other families for the one school place that could work for your child. 

And that's just the start.  Could this new bill make a difference? It has some old ideas (more mainstream inclusion) and some new ways of trying to support this.  There are a few years before it all happens but schools may start looking a bit different and if you currently have a child in primary with SEND or an EHCP you'll be thinking about secondary schools sooner than everyone else.  What can you do to help with your decision?

Tips for teenagers with autism as they revise for their exams

As my eldest heads into his exams I'm well aware of the stress and pressure he puts on himself.  Revising for the first few papers isn't so bad but then there can be quite a few and sometimes one or two on the same day.  Here are some tips to help with their revision when it starts to get busy.   

Last minute Christmas gift ideas to help kids with their motor skills

If you've just left it a bit late for your kids or think you may be visiting some as a last minute arrangement here's some quick gift ideas we've grabbed that are still available for amazon delivery, that will help develop fine and gross motor skills.

Recipe idea for that 'terrible' time of year

We don't really like scary things in our house.  But we can still have some fun making things.  The Gruffalo has been very big in our house since last Christmas and I know we'll be watching it again plenty this year.   Jane even got the Gruffalo Crumble and other recipes cookbook and it's perfect for this time of year to make Gruffalo terrible tusk fruit kebabs.

Building active routines for our autistic and ADHD family

 If you ask me how I feel, most of the time I will reply with 'not bad' or if I'm feeling a bit open 'a bit tired'. I love our family but keeping up with everything and supporting everyone is sometimes exhausting. It's not that I'm physically running around, but I'll work, sort out therapies, deal with meltdowns and spend maybe 2 hours in a car dropping and collecting from schools or respite on a typical day.

Three things to think about for a SEN student going to University

 Uni can feel like a long way off, until it suddenly isn’t. One day we're desperately trying to help Anthony pass his Maths and English GCSE's so he can get onto a Level 3 course at college and the next we're thinking how to help him get the most out of his education while he is still in it. 

Usually I take most things as they come and try not to plan too far ahead but at 16 or 17 years old suddenly what you do now could have an impact on what you might be able to do next. 

Are my autistic kids always online? Are they safe?

The internet can be great for my kids.  Many people think that using the internet a lot is bad parenting, and I'm sure in some cases that might be true.  At our home, the support provided by internet for our autistic, ADHD and neurotypical kids is almost an essential.  

Using light to help us sleep better as the summers gets closer

With summer approaching and daylight hours increasing, many people struggle to get quality sleep. As a family of autistic and ADHD we've always struggled with sleep - getting to sleep, staying asleep and waking up at the right time are all challenging.  Now, the longer evenings can delay melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep, while early morning light may cause people, like us, to wake up too soon. 

Rare Disease Day - common challenges.. and some rare ones

According to the National Autistic Society, Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.   It's not at all rare to have this condition.