If you’re bracing yourself for Christmas, I get it Every year, as soon as Halloween is out of the way, I notice things start to shift in our house. Anxiety creeps up before any of the “fun” has even begun. And it’s funny, because Christmas is actually liked here. There’s excitement. There’s genuine anticipation. There’s […]
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When School Rewards Create More Stress Than Support This week I want to talk about something that has come up again and again in conversations with parents of PDA children – and has shown up loudly in the past few days with families I know. It’s the topic of rewards. Points. Stickers. Charts. Climbing ladders.
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The forgotten children I created a post on Facebook this week that went – I guess you’d say – viral?! At the time of writing, it’s had over 1.9k reactions, 324 comments, and 853 shares. I think that’s testament to just how strongly this hits home for so many parents in a similar situation. It’s
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The things the world never sees Over the years, I’ve met many families whose children mask. Some of their stories will stay with me forever. One mum told me her daughter was known at school as the perfect pupil – polite, kind, no trouble at all. But the moment she got home, she’d go on
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Why some of our kids are drawn to horror With Halloween just around the corner, it’s felt like the perfect time to talk about something I’ve noticed in our house lately. Halloween has always been a big favourite here – the costumes, the decorations, the excitement of it all – but this year there’s been
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Has the Hunter’s Moon thrown anyone else off balance this week? So it’s been a full moon this week – the first super moon of the year, known as the Hunter’s Moon. I wonder if you saw it? It was quite spectacular. I’m not sure about you, but I always notice that when there’s a
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The day school broke our trust I’ve seen this come up on social media recently and it dug up a particular memory for me. Even now, I still feel really deeply affected by it. It was one of the more traumatic things that happened – for both my child and me. So many parents go
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The day I pulled the plug Today I’m going to share a moment with you that, even now, brings up shame, guilt and remorse. I’m sharing it because I know so many of us find ourselves in situations we never thought we’d be in as parents. This was several years ago, back when we were
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When your child goes straight for the jugular There’s something we don’t talk about much as parents of neurodivergent – and especially PDA – children. Our children seem to instinctively know how to push our buttons. It’s like they can sense our weak spot and go straight for it. In PDA circles you’ll sometimes hear
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The 3-question pause: the tool I gave school but needed myself Around this time about six years ago, in the thick of trying to get school to understand my child, I sent them a list of practical tips. It was born out of exhaustion – trying to advocate for them, trying to meet their needs
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