There are many divides in the autism community. There are autistic adults. There are the parents of autistic children. There are those whose autism is deemed ‘high-functioning’ and those who are called ‘severe’ and ‘classic’ and ‘non-verbal’. There are those who are perfectly capable of advocating for themselves and there are those who do not… Read More
This month’s Bostik Blogger theme is Christmas. Since Biggest is a great sensory seeker and loves Christmas decorations of all types, I decided to create a craft that would make Christmas even more of a sensory experience for him – and develop his motor skills. We used every day items and hollow, clear plastic baubles,… Read More
Little boy, something changed, deep in the pit of me. I do not care if you never learn to write your name, if you need me to dress you until I can no longer dress myself. Please, just be safe. Just be happy. Little boy, that howl, it slices through me. I do not care… Read More
As with last year’s gifts for autistic children guide, I want to make it clear that these gifts will not be suitable for all autistic children. My son is a sensory seeker – he loves predicable noise and lights and textures. However, not all children on the autism spectrum want or need the same kind… Read More
I want to remember five years ago, to touch your newborn skin – waxy, translucent. I want to remember the vivid plum blood-test bruises on your tiny heels and feel the way your cry bypassed thought, resounded in my chest. I want to be inside that moment when everything changed. I want to grasp the… Read More
When you write about a topic to raise awareness, or to champion a cause, it can be hard not to become jaded. It is hard not to feel like you have said everything you can, in hundreds of ways and dozens of times over. How can your voice make a difference, in a space filled… Read More
Dear Sir/Madam, I just booked our Christmas return ferry journey. My mum and dad live abroad you see, and so every summer and every other Christmas, we make our way to the Charente region in France. I’ll be honest, it is usually a bit of an ordeal. It takes two hours in the car to… Read More
This week, firstly, I have to apologise. I have a new puppy and a boy who has just started school and both are quite challenging. The puppy has me up three or four times a night and Biggest needs a great deal lot of support with the challenges school is bringing. I have been awful… Read More
This morning, you told me you did not want to go to school. When I said that all boys and girls go to school, that I would be back to get you soon, I saw you bottom lip quiver, your eyes fill with tears. I heard your voice crack. I can’t. The walls are wrong.… Read More
I have debated, wavered. Usually, my urge is to overshare, to explain to the nth degree, to present my heart on a platter and hope that the absolute nature of the gesture makes people generous and kind. It is a compulsion that has caused me no small amount of heartache, in the past. But this… Read More
Two Years ago, you were not quite three. You said ‘pease’ instead of please. You loved buses and knew the words to ‘The Snail and the Whale’ off by heart. When your baby sister cried, you screamed and screamed and I felt cold spikes of fear and guilt to think that I, that she, could… Read More
Reading Eggs is a multi-award winning reading programme for 2-13 year-olds. Developed by a highly skilled team of teachers, writers and developers, Reading Eggs is highly engaging, self-paced and educationally sound. The programme uses five key elements, focusing on a core curriculum of phonics and phonemic awareness, sight words, vocabulary, comprehension, and reading for meaning. Reading Eggs… Read More