At 4am I was sat on the sofa with a cuppa when I felt a small hand slide itself into mine. Kiddo had climbed up next to me, taken my arms and wrapped them around him. He wanted a cuddle. I've had this experience a few times in the last 3 years or so, but [...]
The Autism Friendly Guide to Periods: A book review
When I first saw this book was being published I was really intrigued to see what the book said and how it communicated to young girls about periods. I had in fact only been wondering a couple of weeks before I came across this book how parents dealt with this issue. So, as a neurotypical [...]
What does parent-carer burnout look like?
We hear the word "burnout" a lot in our society. We live a fast paced, technology driven, achievement based life style and often it gets the better of people. We become tired and run down, eventually leading to mental and physical exhaustion, or burnout. There's a very stereotypical view of what burnout looks like. Sleeping [...]
Why don’t we take sleep deprivation seriously?
It's been 3 years since we began our fight to get help with kiddo's sleep disorder. It actually got off to a pretty smooth start when at our first ever paediatrician appointment we were offered melatonin. This so called wonder drug by many was seen as the answer and at first we were in awe [...]
The Trouble With Invisible Illness.
This week I received some news I was expecting, yet still wasn't fully prepared for. The doctor told me I needed a referral to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome clinic (often known as M.E. but I'll be calling it CFS) and that I had Fibromyalgia as well (fibro). She prescribed me some painkillers and off I [...]
A New Beginning.
So today is my last day being 34 years of age, and for so many reasons, I'm dreading tomorrow. It's not a fear of getting older, or the fact that my life is far from what I expected at this age. I couldn't put my finger on it at all but today I have realised [...]
How to make Christmas autism friendly.
As a child I absolutely adored the candlelit church service at Christmas. We would sing 9 carols and here 9 lessons or stories from the bible, surrounded by the beautiful glow of Christmas. Needless to say, nowadays we can't attend services like this (at the moment anyway). Kiddo's sensory needs and lack of safety awareness [...]
