– Autism, Parenting and Personal Development –
My favourite blogger and author is back after a five month break with a new post. If you haven't visited the site, I'd recommend setting aside an hour and settling down with a cup of tea (and possibly some biscuits). Very funny, tender, affirming and occasionally heart breaking, it's quite a read: My Son's Not Rainman.
Change is coming. The prospect of change is beginning to cast a shadow on our family's life: my son is moving up to High School in September. Thomas has high functioning autism so he is generally resistant to change; his primary school and I have spent some time preparing him for this next step. We've talked about it,... Continue Reading →
I began this blog with a desire to depict in some small way the experience of living with autism in the family. I wanted to convey some of the emotions we felt as parents of a child with special needs; the challenges, frustrations and fears of living with something that we have no experience of... Continue Reading →
Thomas received his cycling certificate today. Another certificate for the Wall of Fame in the Room of Heroism. Yes, he really calls his bedroom the Room of Heroism. This is a new thing; he invented the name last week after he went to the Dental Hospital. That evening he brought his toys downstairs to award... Continue Reading →
Tom went to his grandparents' today. He goes pretty much every Sunday and I get a blissful six hours or so to myself. Today I used the time productively, tidying and cleaning the house and catching up on laundry. The cold that was threatening to take hold has not yet done so, I had a... Continue Reading →
At ten years old, Thomas finally learned to ride a bike yesterday. After trying and failing to teach him when he was younger, we left cycling on the back burner. It was another entry of the list of things he wasn't yet ready to do and, with him being our first and only child (never... Continue Reading →
Guess who learned to ride his bike? Yes, that's right. His Lordship himself! He learned not only to pedal forwards but to ride without stabilisers. They put him on a two-wheeled bike from the start and within a few minutes he'd mastered the art of pedalling forwards and balancing and he was away. For a... Continue Reading →
Thomas has cycling proficiency training tomorrow and Friday. Which would be awesome apart from the fact that he can't ride a bike. He never mastered the art of pedalling forwards, he could only pedal backwards. I got back ache so many times manually moving his feet to help him feel what pedalling forward was like... Continue Reading →
I have a theory that autism is being diagnosed in such large numbers these days because society has changed and made being slightly different less acceptable. I believe autism has always been with us but once there was a place for people who were "loners" or "rigid thinkers" and nowadays we ask everyone to confirm to a... Continue Reading →
Son went to the dental hospital today. He had never been before and he was very anxious that he would be put in an MRI scanner with loud clicks and noises, or have his teeth removed. He doesn't like having to lie in the chair as it is raised and lowered until he is lying... Continue Reading →
Aspects of Autism 