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.

Go on holiday without the iPad - are you crazy?

 

As a family with two autistic kids, we'd never go anywhere without an iPad. It's one of our absolute essentials for doing everything from going to the shops, out to dinner or away for a break. Half term has just finished here and once again out iPad came around with us.  But does it always work?

Three Diwali craft ideas for our autistic kids

It's Diwali!  This is a wonderful tradition originating in India, known to many as the festival of light.  But it’s not just about lights and legends –– Diwali is a time to have fun with friends and family! People exchange gifts and sweets, enjoy delicious feasts, watch firework displays and wear new clothes.  For us, it's a time to learn and we can celebrate with some fun Diwali themed activities. 

Four things to do near Sherwood Pines Forest with my autistic kids

Travelling can sometimes be a bit challenging for our autistic kids.  It involves changes in routine, unfamiliar places and people which can be confusing. But they still greatly benefit from time away and days out.  We've recently been to Sherwood Pines Forest in Nottinghamshire and here's some of the things we got up to that you could try.

I love my son's laugh

A laugh, a 'spontaneous sound and movement of the face and body that are an instinctive expression of lively amusement'.  Surely a good thing.  If you've got kids, do you remember the gorgeous feeling you had when your baby laughed?  Who remembers a time when they laughed so hard it hurt?  What if laughing out loud hurt you in a much worse way?

The benefits of a few autism friendly thoughts

Going out with my kids is usually a little challenging, but we are getting better at it.  It's not so long along that the idea of going out on my own with our three kids meant I'd stay inside instead.  After all the kids are fine in the house and it's only later they struggle after being in all day.

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How we got our autistic son to have a snowball fight

Fighting and rough play is something I'd usually associate with my autistic kids.  Both Anthony and David crave physical contact, and Anthony in particular is a bit participate in any sort of play fighting, whether that's with lightsabers, bop gloves or plain old rough and tumble adventures. Except of course when it came to snow ball fights, "I can't mum, I get too cold."