The joke wasn’t really about the spider This week I’ve been reflecting on something that happened years ago. I was talking to another parent recently about something that had happened at school for their child, and it resurfaced an old memory for me. At the time, my child was barely managing school. Attendance was patchy. […]
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Coping is not the same as thriving This week, one of my children needed collecting early from school. Not refusing. Not in crisis. Just overwhelmed, and unable to keep going for one more afternoon. So I found myself juggling a school collection with trying to work, while managing a whining puppy and hoping the neighbours
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SATs, half term, and the relentless juggling act This week I want to talk about the enormous pressure that’s on our children when they’re expected to take part in things like SATs. We’re now in the final summer term. Our kids are getting tired, and there are impending transitions looming from September – whether that’s
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This could have felt like a wasted journey Something happened recently that I wanted to share, because actually… it felt like a positive. My child was dysregulated at school. Something had happened and they could feel it building. They knew they were becoming triggered and were worried it might escalate to a point where they
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When your child can’t go to school Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is something many families in this community are living with, although it often feels like a very lonely place to be. There are lots of reasons children may find it difficult to access school. Sensory overwhelm is a big one. Classrooms can be
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When going back to school doesn’t feel safe For many of us, we’re coming to the end of half term. If, like me, you have a child who is registered at school and attending in some way, you might already be feeling that familiar dread creeping in – the build up to trying to get
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Holding it all together when the world starts again Two weeks off for Christmas and New Year and I actually found myself looking forward to getting back to something resembling a normal routine. The break was lovely, it really was, but it was also over-stimulating, demanding, full of co-regulation, noise, emotional energy, big feelings, crossed
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They don’t melt down. They just fade. This time of year has a way of shining a light on things we usually manage to hold together. It’s always been very clear with my PDAer when school was too much. The sensory overload – too loud, too smelly, too bright, too many unpredictable children brushing past.
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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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