When life felt relentless I spent a long time feeling like I couldn’t leave the house. My career was gone. Most of my time was spent co-regulating with my child, who was barely in school. On a good day, I might manage the drive to their alternative provision. But if they felt they couldn’t go, […]
When life felt relentless Read More »
Not every parent is looking forward to summer Let’s have an honest conversation. Not all parents are happy or excited about the school holidays. For some, they bring dread. Panic. That rising anxiety as you wonder how you’re going to get through the next six weeks. It doesn’t matter whether your child is currently in
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End of term chaos? You’re not alone I don’t know about you, but it’s been a tricky week here. It’s that time of year, isn’t it? Coming towards the end of the summer term. Everyone’s tired. The weather’s heating up. Energy is running low – and the big transitions are looming. Here, the anxiety has
End of term chaos? You’re not alone Read More »
Why tricks don’t work – and what really does Yesterday morning I was lucky. My husband did the school run, which meant I had a little pocket of time to myself – a rare thing. So I decided to walk the dogs. As I walked, I took some slow, deep breaths and ran through one
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When your child needs your nervous system to cope I used to joke that I couldn’t even go to the loo without a small shadow following me. But it wasn’t really funny. My child, who has a PDA profile, relied on me as their external nervous system. They needed constant engagement to feel safe. Unless
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When friendships fade quietly… One of the hardest things I didn’t expect about parenting a neurodivergent child is how friendships can quietly fall away. No big argument. No clear ending. Just… silence. I opened up to someone I thought was a close friend. I shared the hardest parts – the violence from my own child
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It’s not separation anxiety – it’s survival When your child can’t go to school without you, it’s not about over-dependence. It’s about safety. There’s a story many of us are told when our children struggle to separate from us at the school gates. “It’s separation anxiety.” It’s said gently, maybe with a tilted head or
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I never thought we’d do this… Next week, we’re taking our boys out of school and going on a family holiday. Abroad. On a plane. For the first time ever. Not during half-term. Not during the summer holidays. Because that’s simply not an option for our family. And yes, we’ll probably be fined. And yes,
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I knew it would unravel. I just didn’t know when. I’ve been reflecting a little over the past few weeks, thinking back to when my PDAer was still registered at a mainstream school and just how difficult things were. I remember when my son’s 1:1 — well-meaning, kind, trying her best — told him he
I knew it would unravel. I just didn’t know when. Read More »
We don’t talk about parents mental health enough I don’t think we talk about parents of neurodivergent kids mental health enough. Partly it’s because we don’t want there to be any blame put on our children (who we love fiercely). Partly it’s because we’re afraid. Afraid that any sign of weakness will be used against
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