Living with Autism

At this time of year you might be lucky enough to be planning a holiday. And some of you, thanks to a negative experience in the past might be having trepidations - I have some advice that might make it easier and more enjoyable for everyone.


Where I live on the island of Ireland, it can rain for 10 of the 14 days you have set aside for your break. No matter how scenic the location, you do not want to find yourself cooped up in a holiday house with no broadband, no cable tv and the prospect of hanging around the local Supermarket for entertainment.

The usual indoor amusement centres do not work for people with high sensory needs, and they are expensive anyway.
And 'Long walks in the Rain followed by an Irish Coffee in a local pub' are for romantic weekends as a COUPLE.  Not a family of 4 with no clothes dryer.


So take my advice and go somewhere sunny for your holidays. And fly!

The other good reason to go somewhere "foreign" is the fact that it will take you away fro…

My Dad passed away after a really nasty battle with cancer on Monday 19th January, 2015.
He is at peace now but I feel the loss keenly, especially as my family circumstances mean that I couldn't make it to the funeral today in Australia; although I do feel very blessed to have been there for his final Christmas. And that he knew I was there. 

Losing a parent brings up a lot of conflicted feelings. As a teenager, then young adult you might have decided that the way that they lived their life wasn't for you and you would follow a different path. Make your own way.

You go through life, you find obstacles and you find success. You have children and decide that you will raise yours differently, be a different parent, you'll do it better, determined not to make their mistakes. 
And then you realise about halfway through a life that has been full of challenges and mistakes, that actually you do a lot of things that are just like your parent. And that a lot of them are pretty good
I c…

Today I am going to write about puberty and girls, specifically one girl who has autism and is now 15.

Before you get all cross with me, if I thought there was ever a chance that Grace could read this, then I would be asking her to help me write it. Because this is something that Mums (and Dads) need to know.

And before you get squeamish - I'm not going to be writing about the practicalities of managing a period when you have autism and a learning difficulty. You can read all about how our ABA school team managed that here on  "Girls, Autism and Menstruation" which I have put up as a permanent page on the top of my blog.

Our excellent Behavioural supervisor Ann-marie Donovan has written a full guide to how she and her team created a task analysis that taught Gracie how to handle that aspect of her life with privacy, dignity and independence. (which started 2 whole years before her period arrived)

No, this is about that other aspect of being a teenage girl. The maelstro…

Grace App 3:0 is here and it is beautiful! We now have the ability to edit or add text on all images, an iPad view zoom of the sentence strip AND if you need it, Tap Card to Speak....

Apologies for my long absence. I've been taking an extended sabbatical to be a Mom for the Summer. Slowing down to concentrate on my kids has been very relaxing.

So well over a month ago I saw a post on Facebook about "Back To School" kits on the excellent TherapicsFacebook page. Therapics offers a range of visual aids andevidence based therapymaterials designed to help children on the autism spectrum learn and develop through fun games and activities. These educational materials are great for kids withAutism,PDD-Nos,Aspergersas well as speech delay or other developmental delays.

Now, as a kid, I actively hated anything with a "Back To School" theme. Bookshops, departmentstores, uniform suppliers and shoe shops all seemed to conspire to distract from the joy of running around barefoot doing exactly what I wanted all summer.
I know now that it is a different story for parents, ALL parents. That many of you count the days until there is structure and yes, a bi…