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.

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.

Mental health struggles

New results from The Children's Society's latest poll reveal how stark the crisis in children’s mental health has become. Two in five parents (41%) who sought help for their child reported that they did not receive the help that they needed.

Helping our autistic son with exam stress

A recent report into anxiety and depression in people under the age of 18 showed that 7 in 10 (69%) are very worried about school work and exams and 2 in 3 (66%) were worried about their future. As the top two worries of young people, according to Wysa, many young people will be feeling anxious and stressed now more than any other time in their lives so far. Anthony is in the middle of his Year 11 exams, so what can we and he, do to help?

Coping with a change in his special interest

Our son has had a special interest in cars and racing since he was about seven years old.  It's really common for children with autism or ADHD to have something they are 'super in to'.  Being very interested in a subject provides Anthony with lots of joy and in some cases it provides comfort in being able to talk about something familiar.  Knowing lots about something takes away fear I suppose. 

Helping my autistic son to have more responsibility

There's been a lot of focus on schools and qualifications for teenagers over the last few years - and rightly so.  But being a teenager can mean learning a lot more than just academics.  For many kids this is the time they need to learn about  being responsible for themselves, learning the life skills they will need to become as independent as possible.  For some it will be learning about budgeting and time keeping for others this might be being able to make a meal or get dressed independently.  

Getting the kids ready for going back to school

The school summer holidays is always the longest break in routine for our kids. Whilst our kids with autism struggle with these changes, many kids find the transition into and out of school holidays challenging. 

How will our autistic son cope when he starts work?

My 15 year old son did a practice job interview at school today. He took in a suit to wear and practiced questions with us last night. For Anthony, this type of thing is really important. He was diagnosed with autism at four years old, and ADHD when he was around seven. We've been looking at colleges and my mind already races forward to the day ... a day he's looking forward to actually... when he gets a job. And I wonder about him in a workplace.

Mental health and our autistic son

Earlier this year our eldest son really struggled with his mental health. He was missing lessons at school, struggling to cope outside the home and crying and worrying about his future a lot.  I read some recent research from Wysa that showed more than 8 in 10 teenagers are experiencing mental health worries, with 1 in 3 needing professional support. According to the research, half of young people can't access the support they need, with many feeling too ashamed or uncomfortable to talk to teachers or mental health teams at school. 

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.  

Ways to improve our well-being for 2023

In the last year a lot has changed.  It's become obvious that taking care of my family's mental health is a major priority, much more than ever.  It's something I've always been aware of but it has turned into a daily concern here. 

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   

Preparing our autistic kids for a trip to the dentist

 We all know just how important it is that we take good care of our dental health at every age. Children need to have a good oral hygiene routine in place as soon as possible if they are to grow up with healthy teeth and gums. But it's not always easy, in fact for some of my kids it's anything but. 

Tips for restarting a self-care routine

As a parent and someone who likely has a very busy schedule, I nearly always put my wellness on the backburner lately. If this is your situation then it may be time to re-evaluate and try a new approach.

5 tips for parents of recently diagnosed autistic children

When we were told that our first child was diagnosed with autism, we were handed a small bifold leaflet for the National Autistic Society and another for a local organisation that supported parents of children with disabilities. We were referred to Speech and Language and Occupational Therapy but that took a while to start and I didn't know much about what to do to help our son.  Before the kids were born I had a newborn checklist but there wasn't anything to help with what to do following their autism diagnosis.  Here's what I thought could go on such a list.  

Helping us to stay healthy in 2022

Looking out for our physical and mental health is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and our kids.  After I had kids I often found my niggles, ailments and mental health took a back seat but I've come to realise that the best way to look after them is to also look after myself.  My husband is really good at working out and being good with his diet but I often struggle with motivation, energy and time.   I want to do better this year... if I can. 

10 things I'm trying to teach my autistic teenager

There's been a lot of focus on schools and qualifications for teenagers over the last few years - and rightly so.  But being a teenagers can mean learning a lot more than just academics.  Life skills aren't included when you get them help with tutoring for physics and maths online, but for many kids this is the time they need to learn about the life skills they will need to become as independent as possible.  For some it will be learning about budgeting and time keeping for others this might be being able to make a meal or get dressed independently.  

Song and sign is an open door

We've watched Strictly Come Dancing properly for the past three years. I watched a few series when it first started years ago but there's so much on TV nowadays and we honestly usually only make time to watch sports live.  That was until two years ago when our autistic and neurotypical family found it help us to connect with each other.  And this years moment came last night with Rose and Giovanni. 

What I've learned from working in different schools and at different levels

I started teaching in Higher Education when our first son was about a year old.  I was a marketing professional that went back to the agency i worked at part-time - two days a week.  There was a recession at the time and the client base was shrinking so I started to look at other work and came across a college looking for a marketing professional turned teacher.   

Latest travel essentials for our autistic kids as the green list expands

The wait is now over and we can book a break to somewhere a bit warmer for half-term.  Obviously there are all the normal things that we think about a a family travelling with autistic kids. Where we are going, what type of accommodation works for us and so on.   But we also seem to be struggling a little with demand and supply at the moment.  Some strange mix of Brexit, lorry driver and gas shortages means we can't always get things at short notice, so what am I thinking about sorting out for the October half-term holiday if we jet off to the Med?