Author: Helen Neale
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OCD and autism: Understanding the difference in children
Anxiety, obsessions and compulsions; on the face of it, there would seem to be many similarities between obsessive compulsive disorder – OCD and autism. In fact, studies have shown that autism and OCD can often accompany each other, and a Danish study carried out in 2014, later published in PLOS ONE, stated that: “People with…
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10 things for parents of SEND and neurodivergent children to do indoors
SEND is a broad term used to describe any disability that creates a barrier to a child’s learning; this can range from physical impairments such as cystic fibrosis or limited mobility, to ‘hidden’ disabilities such as autism and ADHD. This piece will be useful to most parents of children with special educational needs, but especially…
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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 children.…
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Tips for preparing your autistic 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 first…
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8 top tips to help your autistic child cope with new situations
New situations are difficult for all children, let alone those who are Autistic. 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 I decided to give…
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How to help our autistic children cope with change
I don’t often write about T, our 11 year old 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 recently), but who will…
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Striving for independence for your autistic child: a little bit at a time
It’s something we all strive for in our children, isn’t it? Independence. From the moment they’re born, we’re waiting for those milestones: an ability to support the head; rolling over; crawling; walking and then more and more achieved as they get older. Before you know it, they’re dressing themselves, reading and writing and having more…
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How to prepare for SEND meetings
One thing I didn’t anticipate with parenting special needs children was the amount of form-filling and meetings, meetings with professionals who will make big decisions around the children, based on a few bits of paper. There are so many different meetings to be had, with so many different people. We need to prepare and to…
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After Early Intervention for Verbal Apraxia
Since my son’s initial diagnosis of verbal apraxia three years ago, I have cried three times a year. This usually occurs around evaluations, meetings, and one other random moment in time when I realise how much my boy struggles to do something the rest of us take for granted. As he gets older I have…
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Time for me: A cup of coffee….
I mention my favourite coffee chain drink in my twitter profile, much to my husband’s amusement (it’s a massimo decaf skinny mocha by the way), its come to represent more than just a cup of coffee over time. “Me time” or time for me and me alone…can be infrequent when parenting and especially when parenting…