Autism family travel Q&A with Kate Blackledge

Welcome to the first instalment of our new Q&A mini-series as part of World Autism Awareness Week. Over the next few days, we’ll delve into the travelling habits of SEND families and answer the question: How do other people do it?   First up is Kate Blackledge who microblogs on Facebook and Instagram as The Passable Parent.   Kate lives in …

5 ways travel can boost your mental health

How do I look after myself? This week is Mental Health Awareness week, and it’s probably a question we should all be asking.   Life is busy for all parents but for those of us with children who have additional needs, we’re a different kind of busy – endless meetings, hospital appointments and school appointments on top of the day-to-day crazy …

Our journey to autism diagnosis: part 2

He finally got it. After six years, Big Bear received his autism diagnosis last week. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel at the news. J and I were fairly confident that he would get the diagnosis, although you can never be 100 per certain. Still, when you’re sitting in a room with someone telling you your child is autistic, it’s …

Help A Child Transition Between Activities

How do you solve a problem like transition?

This morning, Little Bear was playing with his trains when I asked him to have breakfast. “No, I play train track,” he replied, not even looking up. “First you have breakfast and then you can play with the train track,” I said. “Nooooooooo,” he wailed, stamping his feet on the ground. A full-blown meltdown ensued, which resulted in me picking …

Top Tips For Homework Success with Additional Needs

5 tips for homework success for children with additional needs

Big Bear has always received homework from school with varying degrees of success. In reception, it was daily reading and weekly maths homework. Maths was a difficult one because not only did Big Bear not understand a lot of it (spherical and cylinder shapes was one of the many disasters), because it was only once a week, the tasks were …

Our Journey To Autism Diagnosis Part 1

Our journey to autism diagnosis – part 1

The word autism was always at the back of my mind even before Big Bear was born. My brother has Aspergers Syndrome, and although autism isn’t a genetic condition, it often runs in families. Our journey to autism diagnosis began at our first meeting with the paediatrician, when Big Bear was showing signs of developmental delay. I asked the question …

How I Finally Got My Child To Sleep Past 5am

REVIEW: How I finally got my child to sleep past 5am

Anyone who follows this blog regularly or knows me personally will know that we have a problem with sleep in this house. Big Bear is big sensory seeker and a very restless sleeper. He often wakes in the night to go to the toilet and generally likes to start his day between 4.45am and 5.15am. This is not when J …