Every night before bed,  I attempt some kind of yoga or meditation. I somehow need to bring myself down to a level of relaxation that will allow me to sleep, no matter how artificial or drug induced that sleep may be. This evening as I was slowly listening to my body breath in and out, I [...]
Author: The Autism & ADHD Diaries
An #ADHD Mum with an #autistic and #ADHD son 👨‍👩‍👦 |Embracing our #neurodiversity and raising awareness of adult ADHD| UK | 🇬🇧
The Power of Solitude
I’ve escaped today. Not sure what I’ve escaped from exactly, but I’m far away from anyone I know and anything I have to do. I’ve found a secluded spot in a cafe over looking the river and have deliberately chosen the smallest table facing away from the rest of the room. I want to be [...]
Why I absolutely do NOT hate Autism.
Over the past couple of years I’ve been hooked on reading blogs from parents who just get it. They’ve been there. And guess what? They hate autism. And they’re not afraid to shout about that fact. To many people it makes these writers seem brave. Someone who speaks the “truth”, but when it comes to [...]
Why autism doesn’t fit into a tick box…
I’ve been involved in a lot of discussion lately around the “high” and “low” functioning labels that surround an autism diagnosis. Although I do see the use of labels in generalised diagnoses such as autism, adhd and sensory processing disorder (see blog on why labels absolutely do matter), I have really never understood the whole [...]
Our first family holiday.
I’ve spent a fair bit of time reading so far this weekend (rare that kiddo doesn’t throw himself on my lap and demand my full attention, making the most of it). I came across another article on forest bathing. The subject fascinates me. Regular readers will know that kiddo is a keen tree enthusiast and [...]
The Blame Game
Today I had an appointment that I have been dreading. It’s been a black spot on my mind since Christmas. Today I had to face kiddos paediatrician with all the reports from the London appointments we attended at the end of last year. And I was angry. I sat last night, a sea of printed [...]
The healing power of a positive mindset…
A very dear friend asked me recently, “how do you cope on the days where you wonder if your life will always be a struggle?”. Good question. Very very good question. There was a time, probably around a year ago when I had absolutely no idea how to deal with this exact scenario. I would [...]
Finding our forever friend: Part Two
It was 8am on a Saturday morning and we were in the car heading to Yorkshire. For those of you unfamiliar with where we live, Yorkshire is five hours away from us. And we were taking kiddo and doing the journey in a day - we’ve got this! Today was the day we were off [...]
How the most ridiculous piece of parenting advice actually saved me…
When you first have a newborn what’s the one thing you’re told over and over and over again? “Make sure you sleep when baby sleeps!”. Now in theory that sounds pretty sensible, but when living in the real world it’s actually fairly impossible. Think about it, where did your baby sleep? Kiddo slept in the [...]
Is there such a thing as a guilt free lunch?
I dropped kiddo at school today and then went straight to a meeting about his medical needs (there’s always a meeting isn’t there?). The meeting went well, everything was tied up smoothly and I left feeling upbeat, perhaps like a successful business woman would feel after landing a huge financial deal. The rest of the [...]
The Autism & ADHD Diaries 