A different kind of hard I’ve been reflecting that Easter holidays, for a lot of us in this community, are not a break. They’re just a different kind of hard. The structure disappears. The routine that took weeks to build – the one that made mornings just about manageable – gone. And in its place, […]
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When did you last have something to look forward to? I want to tell you something that took me a long time to admit out loud. There was a period, not that long ago, when I stopped looking forward to things. Not dramatically. Not all at once. It crept up on me so quietly that
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The things we don’t say out loud This week, I wanted to talk about something we don’t say out loud very often. The thing we can feel shame around. The thing we worry other people – people who don’t live this life – simply won’t understand. The thing we often soften or rename, because even
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January has been a slog – here’s what’s helping me Has January felt like a bit of a slog to you? You’re not alone. I was really hoping that once Christmas was over, things would calm down and I’d finally find some time for me. But with families like ours, it rarely works out that
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The impact on siblings of raising a PDA child I want to talk about something that often sits quietly in the background for many of us, but carries a huge emotional weight. The impact that a volatile home life can have on a sibling, when you’re raising a neurodivergent child, especially a child with a
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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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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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Some weeks just take everything you’ve got A couple of years ago, we went to a family event. I did all the prep – made accommodations, had a plan. My child seemed to manage well at the time. Smiling. Chatting. Joining in. But on the way home, everything fell apart. That’s the bit people don’t
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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,
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