Our Neurodiverse Family

18/01/2025

It’s not easy to understand why someone can’t invest the same time or energy into staying in touch when their life is so different. If you are a carer, or parent to a child with special needs or disabilities, then it can be a constant all@consuming world where there’s not much space for other things. Some friends closest to you do understand. And that’s so very precious.

27/12/2024

22/07/2022

These are things that make such a difference

09/04/2022

I understand why some people think this. But it’s just not that simple.

INSULT NO.5 of our month long insult series is:

"Trust me, they would eat if they were hungry"

This is and can be actually quite damaging for our restrictive eaters. There are many reasons why a child can't (notice I said "can't" not "won't" here) and those reasons are usually unknown to the parent/carer and takes a whole lot of detective work to figure out why. It could be sensory related, an aversion to the taste, smell, feel, look and appearance of some food. It could be they rely on familiarity. A certain look, or brand of chicken nuggets or a specific drink.

I think of GrumpyDad and his situation here where his kid will only drink a certain brand of juice which is being discontinued and where they are struggling to find supply of this juice. Ben would and has stopped drinking for certain periods due to his restrictive intake of this juice. Ben has also previously been hospitalised and this statement can have a really dangerous outcome for those who take this advice as fact and who do not know any better.

Before we comment or advise on particular topics, differences, situations, we must stop and think about the repercussions that our advice may have on a particular child/adult with a different neurology.

⭕️It really isn't always this simple. Don't make this judgment until you know ALL the facts!

02/04/2022

Understanding what’s behind these symbols.
Some people don’t know that the puzzle piece is offensive to much of the autistic community and try to use it as support.

02/04/2022

🌎 🧡

24/02/2022

A wee tear reading this ….

03/01/2022

👍

16/12/2021

Having watched the recent show by the McGunness family I had mixed emotions.

On one hand I am delighted that they are opening up as that is the only way to reply drive for acceptance.

On the other hand I felt that this was still from an ableist perspective.

Let me explain.

For me, to gain insight into something you listen to the people who have lived experience. In this case, for me that is autistic people.
As a society we ignore their voice and their experience and talk to professionals who have studied it instead.

I am not trying to diss professionals who do an amazing job. But it is different. And a different perspective.

To really try to understand something it’s Important to not only listen to professionals, but to people with lived experience too. And to marginalise their experience as not as valid is an ableist attitude.

In this case think were missed opportunities to show that.

I found it at times patronising too. But I do understand the fear around your children having a diagnosis you don’t understand. And the fear that brings for a whole host of reasons. From that point of view there were things I could relate to.

If only society could see that autism is a different way of experiencing the world and stop seeing it as “less than” a Nero Typical person.

This article explains much better than I can.

https://autistic-village.com/2021/12/15/autism-and-our-family-a-review/?fbclid=IwAR09yymxNgR1UCwFkErtR5dC2pVHWQxORR_rAmCuQZzfCU7cdXI1U1ju1Nw

A review of the BBC documentary – Autism and Our Family

28/08/2021

We need to be involved from top to bottom, if change is going to happen

20/08/2021

“Be a rainbow” 🌈

The rainbow is a spectrum, human kind is equally a spectrum. A spectrum of colour, neurology, language, culture, gender, sexual preference, ideas and belief. But look at this rainbow, I don't see any fighting. Be a rainbow, and accept people for being different.

26/06/2021

Hair cutting is a total nightmare. I now do it when he’s sleeping, in the dark whilst trying not to disturb him.
Have tried all sorts and it’s all too traumatic any other way. What I wouldn’t give to have this woman 😂