Is it OK to 'choose' a child?

There is no doubt this is going to be an emotive subject.  If we could choose to rule out disabilities in our children, is that something we want to be able to do?

Not everyone chooses to have children. Some people are desperate and have difficulty, some like me get them first time round and some others have no plans for kids and get them anyway. But not many will have sat down and thought, I know, what I've always wanted in my life and what would make it complete would be if we could have an autistic child. Or a child who was blind, had Down's Syndrome or an extreme pain disorder?  What if you could choose not to have a disabled child?

Spectrum and SEND Sunday #34

Hello, and welcome to Spectrum and SEND Sunday #34,  the place to share your autism, special educational needs and disabilities posts. If you are new to linkies, you can look at my guide on what they are and what to do to join the #SpectrumSunday linky in a bit more detail.

Guess How Much I Love You

Books have always played a big role in our home. From helping our autistic boys access their imagination to immersing the all our children in words - books provide a source of education and fun for our family. We use basic books to label items to help increase vocabulary.  One of the greatest opportunities is that of shared attention or activity.  The joy and skill of doing something together and what better way to do that than with a snuggle book.

WonderfulWednesday: Life is good..we are a happy neurodiverse family

I found my wonderful Wednesday share this week via Autism on our house Facebook page who published this image via Respectfully Connected.    It's a quote from Meg Murray that highlights how, just like our kids are 'different, not less', so is our family.

An interview with Anthony - the bigger ones tag

My kids see the world differently to me.  Even Jane who currently doesn't seem to be on the autistic spectrum (won't rule it out though) is just three years old, so must see it differently too. I am always looking for new ways to gain an insight into the way they think, and now I have another one to try.

4 days being sick - is this what it's like?

After two days spent crawling from the bed to the toilet continuously and two more days laying limp on the sofa, I'm finally feeling a bit better.  Honestly I've not been struck down by a bug like this in years.  Now, on the road to recovery, I learned something I didn't expect about my son's difficulties.

WonderfulWednesday: On our way to independent writing

This week's wonderful Wednesday share is from Life with ASD and the Rest and is about getting over hurdles with writing.

Learning through play - how do you play chess?

By tomorrow all three of my children will be in education. Jane will start half days at pre-school, David will be repeating his reception year and Anthony has just entered year 4. It has flown by.  But of course having three kids in education as I've described actually means only one of them will be sat at a desk for most of the day.

WonderfulWednesday: Intimidation in the playground

This week's wonderful Wednesday share is from Mad House Mum and is about when a parent feels uncomfortable at the school gates.