Christmas Past

I love this time of year, the count down until Christmas, and the cold winter air. Being showered by falling leaves on our walks and watching the excitement on my daughters face. She can not wait to open the first door on her advent calendar this year, I surprised her with a Harry Potter Lego

Autism and Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be both a wonderful and a daunting experience for any woman, whether they are on the autism spectrum or whether they are neurotypical. I didn’t know that I was autistic when I was pregnant, but looking back I feel it did have an impact on my pregnancy. Anxiety was a constant companion throughout

Autistic Burnout

There have been periods of time throughout my life when I would slip into what I thought was severe depression. They started when I was about 11 or 12. Looking through the autism lens, I now realise that those periods of depression were triggered by autistic burnout. At that age, I was beginning to really

Autism, Women and Girls -Communication and Social Traits

Autism presents differently in females compared to males, whereas males tend to follow the stereotypical traits of autism, autistic traits in women may be more subtle. Autism often goes undiagnosed in girls, more so when they are considered to have the type of autism previously called Aspergers Syndrome or high functioning autism. Many women don’t

…..but they are fine at school!!

A child can be doing great academically, they can appear calm, quiet, well behaved and compliant, they can have friends, but they can still be Autistic and struggling. That child still requires the same amount of support as the child who is experiencing meltdowns, who is struggling academically and acting out with negative behaviour. In

Course Feedback

I should be feeling proud of myself, but I’m not, im feeling low, tired and frustrated at the moment. Today, I recieved the second unit back of the course I am doing, it was sent to to my tutor for marking. She, has passed it, with great feedback of how well I have done. Both

Little Scientists

Sometimes I wonder if things would have been different if I had known about Autism sooner, would my mental health be better, would I have achieved more. If I had known would I have had my child? I will never have the answers to these questions, so it’s pretty pointless in asking them, I can’t

Its Okay to be Different!!

You know, if someone had said that to me four months ago I may have heard it, but not believed it. Now, things have changed a little, I have turned a corner and began to realise there are positives to have from being different. For years, years and years, I have felt different and yearned

An Autistic Childhood vs a Traumatised Childhood

When I started this journey, this time last year, the 18 month waiting list for an autism assessment seemed a very long time to wait. But, here we are, already down to 6 months and wondering where exactly the last year went. I have been thinking about what the signs would have been when I

Helping Children On The Spectrum Manage Anxiety

These are tips and strategies that I have picked up along the way, some through being a parent and finding strategies that help my daughter, others I have gained through books and research that I feel would have helped me growing up, and some are common sense. Routine or Timetable Having a routine or a