I woke up anxious for no reason The Easter holidays are nearly over here. They’ve been full on – the demands, the needs, the constant reading of the room. I’m tired in the way that only this kind of parenting makes you tired. But we’ve had some calmer days too, and I’m holding onto those. […]
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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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When your child looks “fine” I want to share something that happened recently, because I think so many of us have been here. You know those moments when you share your child’s diagnosis and someone says, “But they don’t look autistic.” And it always leaves me thinking – what were you expecting? What does autism
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The things we quietly let go of I drove past my local church the other day, and it stirred up a memory for me that I think I’d buried. Many years ago, when my children were very small, I used to try to take them to church. It had been such an important part of
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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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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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When is avoidance just avoidance – and when is it PDA? I’ve seen a few conversations recently in PDA Facebook groups where parents are trying to figure out whether what they’re seeing is PDA, or whether it’s another kind of avoidance. It got me reflecting on what that difference feels like in my own life,
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When parenting a PDAer flips everything upside down Parenting a PDA child changes the way you see everything. All the things you thought were important as a parent – routines, rules, the advice in the books and from well-meaning professionals – suddenly don’t seem to fit anymore. You start questioning everything you once believed about
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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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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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