A letter to my neurotypical daughter

A boy and a girl looking at a river by Someone's Mum

Dearest little one, I have just finished making a phone call, something for your brother. I was chasing an appointment, some support for him – I forget which – one of dozens of phone calls I make every month. My mind is on him, as it often is. I emptied the bricks onto the floor for you before I began, to keep you occupied while I spoke. I am anxious and distracted.

You tug at my clothing and I look down to see you holding up four connected blocks. Red. Blue. Yellow. Green. I know they were not joined before. You have made them. You hold them up for me to inspect, face beaming.

In that split-second I am amazed. You have done something incredible. Then, I remember.

I remember that your brother still cannot push blocks together. I remember that you already run better, climb better, draw better pictures than him, though he is two years your senior. And I am suddenly overwhelmed with sadness. I catch myself, extinguish the frown that had begun to emerge, force a smile.

‘Sweetheart! Did you make those blocks all by yourself? That’s wonderful! Oh look what you have made! You are such a clever girl!’. You clap and dance, hopping from one leg to another, delighted by the praise. And I feel ashamed.

This is a feeling I have grown accustomed to – learned to manage, to hide. But Christmastime hits hard. We look to the future. Yours, and his.

Biggest and Littlest and the Christmas Fayre

We must leave the Christmas light show that made your brother scream. We cannot visit Santa. The music that did not follow in the expected order must be switched off. The nursery Christmas party that you would have relished must be neglected, because he may not cope. Our plans and effort and thoughts must go into making Christmas bearable for him. And what of making Christmas magical for you?

The bikes and puzzles on your Christmas list, the role-play and dress-up, they are reminder of what your brother cannot and will not do. The excitement of bustling places, of loved ones being close, late nights and sparking lights – they all may be cast aside at a moment’s notice. The joy of watching your face light up on Christmas morning will be tempered by the fear that his may crumple in anguish.

My beautiful girl, I am so, so sorry that things must be this way. I know that it is not fair. I know that one day you will notice. I know that one day you may feel resentment. One day, you will know the bittersweet sensation of love and guilt, shame and joy, all mixed together.

But know this –

I love you – every inch of you. And you are always in my mind, always part of the equation. At Christmastime, in summertime, every time I make a call for your brother, every time our care of him affects you – you are there. For every time a shadow temporarily masks my joy, there is another when you bring light to the darkest corners of despair.

You are clever. You are kind. You are irrepressible. You make me laugh every day. You call the Christmas tree a ‘wistwurst twee’. You sing songs and pretend to feed your stuffed toys and you say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ and ‘Love you too mummy’. You are a miracle.

And that’s what Christmas is all about.


I am very privileged to have written some guest articles for some truly excellent websites. If you have enjoyed some of the posts on Someone’s Mum, you may like some of these.

This piece was featured previously on the online magazine, Good to Know, . . I would also like to give credit to the lovely Hannah from Hi Baby Blog who suggested I write on that topic.

Some of my readers may not be aware of some of other guest posts and so I thought I would compile a list. I have also linked to the sites themselves as they have other excellent content that you may wish to check out.

Guest Posts from Someone’s Mum

The 10 important things you learn when you’re an autism parent, featured on Good to Know

The Highs and Lows of Autism on Sports Day, featured on AutismAwareness.com

Parenting from a Special Perspective: Someone’s Mum, featured on Diary of an Imperfect Mum

The Bloggers Spotify List featuring Danielle from Someone’s Mum, featured on Pushing the Moon

Meet the Parent Bloggers: Someone’s Mum, featured on Bringing Us Together

I had gestational diabetes, featured on Babycentre

Finally, even this post isn’t written by me, I wanted to include it. It is by my lovely friend Harriet at Toby and Roo and it was just so kind of her to include me and say such kind things about me and my blog. There is also a summary of some of my favourite posts there.

12 Days of Blogmas Day One: Danielle from Someone’s Mum

Thanks so much to all my regular readers who leave such thoughtful comments on my posts. Merry Christmas.

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One thought on “A letter to my neurotypical daughter

  1. I honestly don’t know how you manage to do all this wonderful writing and still be such an awesome mom to your little ones. Your honesty in this letter shows your love and concern. Thank you for sharing yourself and your family with us!

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