First things first, I really don’t like this question! It is full of presumptions, most if not all of which I profoundly disagree with. But the simple answer is no, an autistic child will never be normal, they will always be incredibly special and that is a wonderful thing, not a problem. So let’s try and unpack that question a bit more. I totally understand why people would ask it, and if you have arrived…
Good question, and thank you for asking (even if you didn’t ask and just stumbled across this by accident). In many ways, this is one of those situations where asking the question at all is really more important than trying to absolutely nail down a definitive answer. It is always a wise move to try and put yourself in someone else’s shoes, even if only for a brief time. And I can only describe what…
I have to admit, some days at the moment are turning into a real slog for me. I have lots of things on the go, and I am well aware that instant results do not happen despite all those emails I get telling me I can make £10,000 a week by doing nothing at home! But when you go for a little while in your own business or even in your wider life and seem…
I had a sudden and vivid memory last night. In September 2001, when the 9/11 attacks took place, I was working in a large office building in central London. Our access to the internet was limited, but we quickly picked up on the terrible events on New York City, and like the rest of the world struggled to find more details as the horrifying events unfolded. As we left for the day, keen to get…
We all find it hard to bounce back from something bad in our lives. Standing up to prolonged pressure, mistreatment or difficult circumstances is even harder. In this time of self-improvement and social media profiles which only show the positives of the lives of others, it is very easy to feel that our resilience is low compared to others. Well, I have news for you. Your resilience is not nearly as low as you think…
I am scared. Scared of this virus and what it might do to my friends and family. Scared that the restrictions that have at least kept it in check to some degree will be lifted too soon leading to more outbreaks. Scared because I no longer know what to believe and who to trust. I spend quite a lot of my life in fear anyway, and it is really not nice. A combination of anxiety,…
It is now 6 weeks since I went further from home than just outside my front gate to place and collect my dustbins. This is having a number of impacts on my mental health and thoughts, many of which I am sure I do not fully realise or understand, and some of which I suspect I may not notice for some time. As I have said before, I like being at home. I am happy…
There is a TV commercial I keep seeing at the moment that is confusing me. It is for a mattress. I am sure that it is a lovely mattress and I mean the brand no harm, but one aspect of this ad seems strange to me. As is often the case, there is a series of customers giving bite-sized views on the product, which is all well and good, until we come to a lady…
We all love our comfort zones don’t we? I have often taken the anything for an easy life route in my life, and at time that is the right thing to do – you can’t live on the edge all the time after all! Right now, though, we are all out of our comfort zone one way or another. It can be scary, stressful and exhausting (it certainly is for me), but I am still…
If this period in lockdown is teaching us anything (aside from how patient teachers are, right home-schooling parents!?), it is the number of relatively basic things that enrich our lives that we have all taken completely for granted for a very long time. Who would have thought that popping round the corner for some milk and bread would have to become at best a military style operation to accomplish safely and at worst something that…