What I love about the SEND Minefield
The things I love about life in the SEND Minefield. Yes there are some positives.
Life AsPland
What I hate about the SEND Minefield
The experiences that have left me sat seething with anger, crying in pain or shaking with frustration.
A quote for my children
Its’ not the critic who counts
Negative Stereotypes
The joy that is Rain Man has helped to perpetuate many myths around autism; we are often asked what his talent is or if he can recall everything he has read.
Me Time? How do you spend it?
When I need me time, I head to the beach. I’m a beach for all seasons type of girl
How do you use an Obsession?
Like most parents who have a child with ASD, I had read all the books I could find and each of them said “use their obsession” but no one explained what this meant.
Baker Small (BS), what were you thinking?
This company were not just celebrating a win, they were laughing at the parents who had lost. Somehow, the child at the centre of this didn’t appear to be even considered.
Bullet Journal in the world of Special Needs
I wanted to share with you how I use the Bullet Journal method to keep on top of the Special Needs Minefield.
Stop, Get Ready & Go – Working with Families
A few tips on good practice when working with families and children with SEND.
Just say “Thank You”
Why can we not just say thank you and move on? This is something I have been thinking about for some time. I like to give compliments but I am useless at receiving them.
When did you last treat yourself?
Do treats need to cost anything? What makes you smile, what makes you happy?
Morning Pages – can they really make a difference
Writing each day about anything which pops into my mind has made me see more clearly what issues are floating around in my head, often issues I hadn’t even thought were there.
Poor choices – why do we make them?
I have tried every single diet plan there is. I know all about poor choices. I know all about what I should be doing. I know what I should be eating. So why am I not doing it?
Choosing Myself and Saying No
Giving myself the chance to do things for me – without the usual guilt trip of not doing something for others – has meant I am thinking clearer; I am more able to make good decisions and I’m procrastinating less.
Pinteresting: Verb – to Pinterest your home and life
There are rumours that Pinterest was in fact created by a man who wanted his wife to lose weight, get fit, decorate the home, cook amazing meals and still manage to look amazing and up to date at the same time.
Today – What parents and practitioners need to know
This video has received over 21k views on Youtube and I have had contact from parents and practitioners across the globe since publishing it. It has been used in training across the UK, in the States, in Canada and Australia to help raise awareness of the reality of the lives we live.
How I plan for the week ahead
When life happens, and things get put on hold, the last thing I want is the added stress of knowing that I will have to play catch up the following week/month.
What if your value was based on how kind you are?
Society gives us a hierarchy based on our roles or our income.
One phrase we often hear is “from the CEO down to the cleaner”; giving the impression that the cleaner is at the bottom of the chain.
Finding my creative mojo
Having something I created, something you cannot buy in a shop, has given me a real sense of pride. My creative mojo was starting to fly.
The Days After The Diagnosis
So much is written about how to get a diagnosis; what the criteria is for a diagnosis and what to do when you don’t get one but little is written about how it feels to get the diagnosis.
Setting Up my Bullet Journal for February
I am a big list writer – hence my love of the BuJo. So I wanted to share my lists with you of what has and hasn’t worked in my BuJo set up and what hasn’t.
Lists, Bullet Journal and Autism
However, this week, we realised how much impact my love of lists has had on my son.
To eat the cake or not eat the cake
Do you have conversations with yourself where you try to justify behaviour or talk yourself into doing something you know you shouldn’t? A chat where the voices in your head battle it out to win their own way?
Achieve your goals this year in six simple steps
If you have a goal in your head, this is just a wish or a desire. A wish does not give you the motivation to get up and do. Believe me, I have so many wishes. I wish I was slimmer, I wish I was fitter, I wish my garden looked like an advert for Home and Garden and not Beginners Guide to Gardening, etc.
Miracle Morning or Major Mayhem
I have recently discovered yet another dippy hippy activity – my husband’s words, not mine. I am talking about Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning.
Saying Goodbye to some friends in 2016
I have sat today and wrote down all I am proud of, all that has gone well for me and also who has nurtured and supported me throughout the year and finally what I am going to let go of in 2016.
Our Family Agreement
As we sat down to dinner over the weekend, I asked “if there was one thing you could do once a month, just to make you happy, what would it be?”
Is this it forever Mum? Will I always be blind?
It has taken me a bit of time to be able to write this post as the pain of hearing those words was almost my un-doing. I’m seen as a strong woman who can handle anything that is thrown at me; and, to be honest, I like to perpetuate that myth – in the hope that it will one day be true.
Planning for Positivity #1
I am going to plan to be positive. I will set myself some small goals each week or month to help me stay positive and, most importantly, I will do all I can to achieve them.
Why we need to be grateful for the men who do things “for us”
I am talking about the men who do things like:
– load the dishwasher
– iron their shirts
– feed the children
– bring the washing in
and then tell you they have done it “for you”