Arranging a long holiday with autistic kids

 

Two years ago, our family were starting on a wonderful and unforgettable holiday to North America.  It took in six destinations, five flights, three travel booking sites and companies and of course us and our wonderful autistic and neurotypical kids.  With an increase in working from home (or maybe anywhere you have an internet connection) and restrictions I've heard about the idea of basically getting away for an extended period, almost living away on a holiday destination.

Helping our autistic kids cope during a heatwave

The heat is on.. finally we have the windows open for a reason other than COVID.  We're now even allowed fans again - thank goodness!   But fans and open windows can be a bit hazardous around our autistic kids so what ideas have we got to help them cope during this hot heatwave of a week? 

What would I go back and tell myself when my kids received an autism diagnosis

There is no correct way to react to your child receiving an autism diagnosis.  For some parents it can be a shock, others are worried, some are relieved.  It's normal to wonder why or how a child is autistic.  When we were at our first autism diagnosis meeting the first thing the paediatrician said was something like 'it's nothing you did or didn't do, nothing that you did wrong.'  

Helping autistic kids adjust to a new baby

I remember when we found out our eldest, Anthony, was autistic, I was pregnant with David. Then I was pregnant with Jane when we found out about David. A friend of mine is expecting and as parents of autistic kids often do, we were chatting through how things were and she admitted being nervous about bringing a new baby into the family and how their autistic child might react.  

Designing a new bedroom for my autistic kids

None of our children sleep great. Estimates say between 50% and 90% of autistic people have some sleeping difficulties, whether that's going to sleep, staying asleep or sleeping at the wrong time - and that's just when things are normal.  And sleep is just one function of a bedroom. When it comes to our autistic kids there's lots to think about. 

Our young carer for Carers Week

About once a week Jane is late for school. To be honest our timing's in the morning are quite tight anyway and it’s always a chance that something might happen on our way to school but could make us late. But in most circumstances the truth is that Jane is late to school because she is a young carer.

As my autistic son becomes a teenager

By the end of this week there will be an official teenager in the house.  Although it seems rather bizarre that I can have a child who is now legally old enough to get a part-time job.  Though let's be honest, I can barely get Anthony to empty the dishwasher and take the bins out - activities that he relies on to get his allocated screen time allowance.  His chances of taking up work are extremely slim I'd say. 

Trying to get my autistic kids to eat better

Restricted diets.  Honestly, sometimes it can be depressing.  There's no medical reason why my boys can't eat things.  They are not allergic to anything (that I know of) and to most people it looks like I feed my kids the same food every day due to laziness. But it's not that.  I am in fact desperate to get them to eat a a healthier diet even if it's in the same things they eat over and over again.  If you are in the same boat, here's some of the ideas we have tried.

Helping our autistic son figure out what is real

We were so pleased when Anthony started using his imagination. Many children with autism struggle to use their imagination, at least in the traditional sense.  So when Anthony started Tree Fu Tom, Ironman and then Anakin Skywalker we encouraged it.  He can even go crazy and though he's close to teenage years can make a pretty good impression of Godzilla from the lastest Godzilla Vs Kong movie too.  Obviously this isn't real, but it's often still difficult for Anthony to know what could be real from a movie.