Special Needs
Special Needs
10 awesome ways to incorporate sensory play into the playroom
We all know that play is extremely important for children. In addition to being fun, playing helps children to learn to socialise and communicate, and to develop an understanding of the world around them. But when children have complex needs, we know that they often don’t get the same opportunities to play as other […]
Special Needs
Childminding – the end of an era when a new term starts
It’s September and there are pictures being sent around, happy pictures of children in their new school uniform, smart uniform for a new term. I was sent one such picture yesterday, two smiling brothers, arms around each other. One with a cheeky little face – his giggle almost came out of the picture – the […]
Special Needs
School reports: Just Forget The Numbers
I got annoyed with myself recently. Really annoyed. A “why on earth did I do that?” annoyed. Both T and D’s school reports came home before the end of term and they were fantastic, for them. Both extremely positive, both proof that D is in the right setting in her SN school and that […]
Special Needs
Reading, D’s way
Reading is something we all take for granted, I can remember immersing myself in the bookshelves at my grandparents and really looking forward to staying with them because it meant access to their vast collection of books. We’ve been very lucky that T took to reading very quickly, phonetically, whilst with D it took a […]
Special Needs
Tips for preparing your special needs child for school
Now that we’ve successfully received a place for T after going through the appeal process, it’s time to think about September and preparing for secondary school. It’s taken me back to his and D’s first days at primary school, time has positively whizzed by. For every parent, especially those of a SN child, their […]
Special Needs
Stop The World, I Want……A Cuddle
I’ve been feeling a little (ok, well rather a lot!) “aaaaaargh!” this week. Not only due we have a series of meetings in a few weeks regarding appealing T’s secondary school place (this particular school operate their own system separately from the LEA), but there’s the phone calls awaited for D’s monthly injection next week […]
Special Needs
Battling the inner demons and trying to put them to rest
We all have our inner demons, happenings that have shaped the way we are, the way we interact, the way we allow others to see ourselves. It’s whether we choose to let them in. Growing up in an extremely dysfunctional environment (my parents divorced bitterly when I was 9, the family home was sold […]
Special Needs
It’s the little things: D’s Buggy Buddy
Sometimes T and D amaze me. My pair of (autistic) pickles who remind me of Tom and Jerry, they will frequently spar and get on each others’ nerves, partly due to their autism and differing intellectual levels. Tween hormones playing a part too. But sometimes they make each other smile, recently we had one of […]
Special Needs
Managing Aspergers – 8 top tips to help your child cope with new situations
New situations are difficult for all children, let alone those who are on the Autistic spectrum. I have come up with some tips that I hope will benefit parents out there and help their children cope in new situations. I am a parent with a son who has a diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome and […]
Special Needs
Changes to a T
I don’t often write in detail about T, our 11 year old high functioning autistic son. Not that I don’t love him as much as D, of course I do and more. He’s our first child together, our little man who can change his moods like the winds (and there’s been a lot of that […]
