In this article I hope to describe how Dr Stephen Porges's theory of Neuroception has helped us, as Parents, to develop greater insight into what might be happening for our Autistic son when he is faced with "demands". This will provide a context for my hypothesis that: Highly sensitive Neuroception may be at the heart…
Positive Autistic identity is at the heart of our Autistic children's ability to achieve and sustain emotional well being. Autism is not an add on or something a person has. This means we cannot separate autism from our child and love them, but not "it". My son is Autistic and I love that he is…
I wrote this short fantasy/reflective piece before setting up on wordpress, so it just sat as an early post on my Facebook page. I decided to tweak it and put it into blog format as my focus piece for PDA Day. It is about what things could look like once provision; committed to Improving Outcomes…
It is time to stop describing SEND parents as “Anxious”. All too often we hear or read statements where the parent of a child with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) is labelled as “anxious”. Such statements can often be underpinned with judgemental and critical tones. Too many professionals who are not qualified to do…
Many of us will have heard similar phrases in relation to how our neurodiverse children cope with playgroups, school and other complex multisensory environments."He'll soon get used to it!""He'll be alright once he's settled in!""She's fine once she's here!"But what happens when they're not fine and when they're really not getting used to it?William becomes…
This is a letter written to help a dance teacher understand William's needs before his first lesson. I've kept it as a starting point for other letters. I adjust the content each time, including or excluding information; on a need to know basis, depending on the recipient and setting. I always keep William's well being…
When I read about the core features of PDA, I am able to see lots of examples of each in William. But when I think about how some of these features are described, I do wonder whether we could do so in more positive ways. One (of many) examples of this, for me, is the…
The focus of my blog and page is to join hands with those who, like me, want much more understanding about Autism in mainstream narratives. My hope is that by bringing together current literature, articles, blogs and information that reflect the diversity and breadth within the Autistic population; that we may challenge the many stereotypes…
Avoidant and restrictive eating is hugely emotive. Eating difficulties are not exclusive to the Autistic population, but studies have shown that Autistic children exhibit more food refusal than typically developing children. (Bandini et al, 2010) During our son's autism assessment we expressed our concerns around his eating in quite some detail. We received an acknowledgement…
