My beautiful Autistic Child,
One day when you are older, you might come across stories on the internet. Stories about parents who hurt their children- Autistic kids like you. Continue reading
Neurodiversity vs “The Mighty”
On the 28th of April 2015 I published an article called “the basics of neurodiversity”. (It was on my old blog, but you can see it on my new website by clicking here. It will open in a new window.) Somehow, an editor at ‘The Mighty’ stumbled across the article and liked it enough to get in touch on 8 June and request permission to republish it. {In case you don’t know about The Mighty I’ve included a link >> here << so you can see their website via donotlink.} Continue reading
Inclusion: when are we going to stop talking about it and start doing it?
TW: some readers will find the content of this article distressing. It references stories of abuse of disabled children within educational settings. Continue reading
Being present is not the same as being included: more thoughts on inclusion in the classroom
Inclusion is a bit of a buzz word, I guess. It is thrown around to assure everyone that schools are supportive and understanding of students with extra support needs. But the reality of attending school as a Neurodivergent person is a bit more complicated than being told you are included. Continue reading
Thoughts on inclusion in the classroom
In conversation with an old high school friend I was asked about my thoughts on inclusion in the classroom. I responded that answering that would take me some time and I would get back to him. I had been thinking a lot about this, as during 2014 both MasterL and MissG left mainstream schooling, opting to do their learning at home. Continue reading
Supporting neurodivergent children with self care
Earlier this year MissG and I were to participate in the annual Autism Positivity Flashblog. The topic was Acceptance Love and Self-Care. I hoped to ask MissG some questions about how she looks after herself and submit her answers, but as you will see the discussion didn’t go as I thought it would. Continue reading
Assumptions
In my family of eight, six of us are neurodivergent, five have diagnosed disabilities. Our two Autistic kids are homeschooled. Two of our kids go to local schools. The youngest is not old enough for school yet, and our oldest is in tertiary education. Things can be quite hectic around here.
I generally don’t broadcast our struggles publicly because…. well, they are ours, and the kids don’t need to grow up to see me whining about parenting them all over the place when they grow up. Continue reading
I dare you
I wrote this and published it on my old blog in November 2015. A year has passed, and I wish I could say that since then there has been no more news of violence against Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent and disabled children by their parents and carers. The fact is there has been story after story of parents who are convinced their imperfect child is the reason for all their woes, and so they act in unspeakably horrific ways toward them. The fact is, the media is still telling us all to feel sorry for this parents, rather than the victims- their children.
So, today, I am sharing this old piece of writing with you. Because nothing has changed. Continue reading
one of those days
You’ve had one of THOSE days, right?
The ones that start with running late to the early drop off for your kid to catch the train for an excursion, and finish with the topping falling off the pizza you order for dinner because you didn’t make it into the shops (the only task on your to do list for the day) despite having driven past them 5 times. Continue reading
Tired. Anxious. Almost not coping. Or almost doing well.
Some days I’m a weird mix of tired and anxious. I’m not worried about anything in particular, but everything worries me and it’s hard to make a decision about anything. I’m not physically sick, but there is a queasiness in my stomach and a feeling in my chest. I am tired and foggy in my brain, but I don’t want to lie down to rest because that it exactly when my brain will jump into action and I will feel worse. Continue reading
