WonderfulWednesday: WorldToiletDay

Every week the wonderful people at The Makaton Charity share a sign of the week through their #wetalkmakaton initiative. I think it's often a great way of raising awareness of much more than just communication needs.

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.

Is learning another language a good idea for my autistic kids?

Have you thought about whether it would or wouldn't benefit your child to learn a second language? For children with autism, a lot of people assume that it's better to avoid delving into foreign languages altogether.  I've heard from other parents, with autistic kids, that the weren't sure about speaking more than one language with their children.  Anthony an Jane have both recently have French lessons at school and I wondered - is it a good idea?

WonderfulWednesday: It's the BAPS Awards via @weareMFON

If you missed the big fuss last year when the SEND Blogger BAPS Awards were launched, then lucky you get to be wowed from the outset.  My slightly belated wonderful Wednesday post is about this years BAPS Awards - they were so successful they are back and looking better than ever.

What will a new series of The A Word mean to us?

Will the rather iconic imagine of a little lad wandering down a lane in the Lake District to the sound of awesome beats be entering our world again tonight?  The second series of The A Word starts this evening and I'm eager to see what's changed in the world of autistic Joe and his family.  Plenty has changed in our lives in the last 18 months since the first series aired so I'm guessing it'll be the same for them.

Could my autistic son's obsessions help him in the future?

No one knows what the future holds. We can plan and have ideas, but things can change and develop, or sometimes things don't progress like we hope.  And whilst I can see an endless list of opportunities and possibilities for our neurotypical daughter, I'll be honest, I often struggle to see the same thing for my boys. But sometimes, I have a thought, and my latest one was about Anthony.

SEND and SpectrumSunday #60

Hope you all had a good half term? I'm back this week for our SEND and Spectrum Sunday linky with some exciting news. The absolutely fabulous Victoria, previously of Mummy Times Two and now from the all new, Starlight and Sparkles blog is coming on board as co-host for a while.  Yay!

Staying sane in the run up to Christmas

Half term is over - the countdown has begun.  Anthony announced this week - it's seven weeks till Christmas.  And like every year, I'm not ready.  But I've got some ideas to help me.

Sponge splat fireworks sensory paint activity

We can spend a lot of time in our house looking out the bedroom windows over fireworks weekend. Fireworks used to be a real worry for us but slowly, the boys have come to delight in the sparkles in the sky.  We prepare for them coming and this sensory splat craft is a fun way to talk about it.