Living with Autism

Lately I've been following a few discussions on my "mentor" fashion blogs like Super Kawaii Mama, Skylark and Already Pretty, and I say discussions, because the comments have been as fruitful as the posts.

These girls have been talking about why when you are clever, you have to be daggy or dorky.
or if you are a parent, you have to devote yourself to running around in track pants and god forbid wear heels on the school run.
So, why is it, when you are being the best version of what you are, that you should you feel embarrassed taking good care of yourself? Why should Style preclude Substance?

As some of you know, I am a dedicated fan of Thriftage, my new word for finding wonderful, sometimes designer, but very individual treats in charity shops. I also do a bit of ebay, and end of season sales shopping, and Outlet stores but only for things that look individual.

I like wearing these outfits to lunch, and dinner with Mr Hammie and the regular Mummies' Nights Out I have wit…

Well folks, I am totally fed up with autism so I decided to do a couple of fashion posts; just until I get my mojo back.

May I say: Respect to all of you who do this daily! I finally appreciate how difficult it is!

Firstly, I had to wait until Bratty was out as it involved "moving things" (ie. shoes and clothes) Then I had to get the light right, and the angles and back drops. I had a good digital camera but I donated it to the school so I had to borrow Mr Hammie's blackberry because it has a flash, and teach myself to use it and well, humph. What a lot of work you gals and guy do each time you do a post!


My first efforts are terrible. But I really really love these clothes so I will try and make up for it by telling a little story for each piece.



These are my "Carrie" shoes. I know she never wore kitten heels in any episodes, it is just how they make me feel. I got them for a wedding, but have ended up wearing them with Khaki capri pants and 3/4 length skinny…

Firstly, Happy 10,000th hit to me! I tried so hard not to check it today (so it wouldnt be me) and got lost somewhere between 9971 and 10,003. Whoever was 10,000th there is 10K in a brown envelope....
No sorry, but if you were 10,000th, a packet of Tim Tams is on their way to you if you leave a comment.

I would like to thank most sincerely my loyal readers and all of the fascinating, funny, intelligent and very very pretty blogs that I have on my blog list, whom I know send me hits via their mountain of readers. Of course, it's not just about hits, but about the spread of awareness. So next time one of us Autie Mums (or Dads) is struggling to get on a bus; maybe one of you will be there to help out, Because YOU KNOW what autism is.

I also want to thank my blogrollers for the company these long wet "summer" holidays.
Having kids with high needs really means not going anywhere most days. Having Bratty playing the Diva for the last 4 weeks has limited even our usual outings to …

I chanced upon a post by the excellent Kristina Chew today, that referred to her son Charlie taking his Medicationso I quickly clicked on to the link and found out that Charlie is on the same meds as Bratty.
And I felt validated.
You see, I always feel a bit guilty about Bratty's medication. When a parent is having trouble with sleep issues especially, I want to try to help and recommend things we tried that might work for them. But the truth is, we didn't really get a good night sleep until Bratty started on medication, this time last year.
The short story is that she was no longer herself. Her anxiety, frustration and obsessive compulsive behaviours had become so intolerable that we were in danger of breaking down as a family. And when she was angry she got violent. We were living in fear of her getting upset and it was horrendous. A very big part of the problem was communication. She didn't have the words to describe what her problem was (usually something to do with chang…

That's me by the way. A bit of a slack blogger but I will make it up to you as soon as the babies go back to school.
They are both doing special needs swim camp this week. 45 minutes a day of 1-1 swimming lessons in a lovely pool. They have a few other auties and some kids with Downs in their group and Bratty has been enjoying socialising at the end of class. They play ring-a-rosies at playtime and the more social kids are giving her eye contact and pretty much demanding she interact with them. And she loves it.

And of course the D.S. kids are remembering names, saying hello and goodbye and generally reminding me that not all kids ignore you while reciting the script of Marg Vs The Monorail.........



That is Boo's painting of the monorail.


Bratty is more social than Boo, but because of her needs she rarely gets to mix with any other kids.
Goal for the new year; get a few play dates for Bratty.

Boo has been improving his swimming everyday too, and has the same teacher as this tim…

I am only going to make oblique references to a new film being released at the end of this month, starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jnr, because I don't want to feed it the oxygen of publicity that a controversial film gets.


Nick on Downsdad and Kristina Chew on Autism Vox have covered this issue admirably and I will only add that you should perhaps check out this Youtube Clip.


Sadly, my own son has been talking about this dreadful movie for weeks. He is a regular reader of the Dreamworks website and like Madagascar II ; he knows this film is Coming to Cinemas Everywhere Soon. Fortunately he has not quoted any lines from the trailers. And now that they have been deleted, I am hoping he won't.


Because that is the problem. Like Zoolander before it, this film is bound to lead to quoteamania.
"Blue Steele" (do the face)
"Mer-man! *keh... keh... keh...* MER-MAN!"
"Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty"

or ho…

This is what one of my teenage angels says I should have as a bumper sticker.

This young one is the third of 3 sisters who have been helping us out for years.
She is fantastic to have around, tells me all about "emos" and of course everything is "totally random" and the kids adore her.
But, she tends to help me more during school holidays and that is when she told me I should get that bumper sticker.
I think I was road raging some poor hapless human being who tried to scoot into a parking space outside McDonalds. Poor guy thought he could get away with it, even though I had clearly indicated that I was intending to park there. He thought he could tough it out, little lady in a crappy chick car (1 litre engine, Hammie does not spend good shoe money on Gas!)
Even when I explained that the little flashing light on the back of my car wasn't for Christmas; but an IN-DI-CATOR. I also explained that I had 2 special needs kids and I did not want to have to drive around…