Helping our autistic son sleep when he is feeling stressed

Stress is a normal part of life, but when it becomes chronic, it can impact our physical and mental health.  It can impact our whole life and we've been struggling recently with it impacting sleep.  

Five things that cause stress for my autistic kids

My kids can become frustrated for a variety of reasons and it isn’t always easy to pinpoint the underlying cause of their emotions.  Once a few of these things start piling up it can ending causing them a stress they can no longer cope with.  Two of them have communications difficulties, but even our daughter can struggle sometime to explain what she's feeling or why.   As a parent of autistic kids I've learned to behave like a detective and have found several things that cause my kids to escalate   

Things to help me when life feels stressful

Stress can unbalance our emotions, and it can also make it much more difficult to react calmly to a situation. I've things, important things going on, and most of them I can't control.  I sometimes feel as though stress is slowly taking control of our lives and have to think of what I can do to release some of the pressure that's locked inside.  

Dealing with the stress of being stuck at home

The latest government advice recommends a minimum of three weeks of social distancing and self-isolation to tackle the Coronavirus COVID-19 spread. Many families have had to change how they operate - and in a home like ours where routine is king, it can make us stressed and anxious. 

Ways to stay connected with your partner when raising SEN kids

As parents of kids with additional needs, life can put a lot of pressure on relationships. We all have to deal with stresses and strains in our daily lives, however, when these get built up over a considerable amount of time, they can end up causing lasting damage to our relationships and to those that we love.

Time to Talk with parents of additional needs kids about mental health

It’s easy to think there’s no right place to talk about mental health. But the more we talk about it, the better life is for all of us. Too many people with mental health problems are made to feel isolated, worthless and ashamed. Time to Talk Day is a chance for all of us to be more open about mental health – to talk, to listen, to change lives. 

Routines seem to benefit us all

Our recent realisation into how important routine is for David affected more than I thought.  There's something about seeing your child in an autistic meltdown that is like nothing else.  It's devastating. Routines make David feel safe.  And looking at this incident I realised that as much as I like the idea of spontaneity, much of our lives are now routine driven - and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Coping with the stress of parenting our kids

Baby brain? Had that. Sleepless nights? Yep, I've still got them. The kids have definitely had an impact on my body and health. I love all my children to bits but let's face it, despite my youngest now being four years old, there's still a lot more tummy than there was nine years ago.  It looks like someone has spirographed on a pigs belly. And that's not the half of it.