Motheroffae

Minecrafting a village

My daughter has recently entered that stage of development where she would rather spend her time fixated on a ten-inch screen than have anything to do with another human being. I would like to say this is a phase she will grow out of, but realistically her father spends his working life staring at threeContinue reading “Minecrafting a village”

Is this the 5 minute argument or the full half hour?

My daughter can argue with air. I’d like to say that’s a metaphor, but I have genuinely heard her, alone in a room, having a full-blown argument when there was literally nothing there to argue with. I like to think she’s simply honing her skills for a future career in politics. Or law. Either way,Continue reading “Is this the 5 minute argument or the full half hour?”

Climb Every Mountain, Name Every Bean

We have survived another school year. This one has been laced with more change than we normally allow. Which is to say… there has been some change. Our little fae has coped remarkably well in some ways and spectacularly failed to cope in others. Such is life with an autistic child. Milestones like the endContinue reading “Climb Every Mountain, Name Every Bean”

Sorry I’ve been busy…

So, I know I haven’t published on schedule for a week (or three). My apologies to the two people who might actually have noticed. There are reasons for this. Two, in fact. The first is that I decided to try and turn all my incoherent ramblings on this blog, along with some of the genuinelyContinue reading “Sorry I’ve been busy…”

Active Imagination

Whoever said that those with ASD have trouble with imagination never met my daughter. Actually, I suppose that depends on how you define “trouble.” She absolutely has an active imagination. Too active. In fact, dragging her out of her reality and back into the real world is met with resistance that the Home Guard wouldContinue reading “Active Imagination”

Achievement unlocked

I don’t want to jinx it or come across as bragging, but for two consecutive nights our fae daughter slept through to 5 a.m.! This may not seem like a full night’s sleep to those who have non-spicy children, but to us this is a miracle (and a lie-in). It has been a gruelling fewContinue reading “Achievement unlocked”

Spoon theory refined

I have in the past talked about spoon theory, I’m going to elaborate further here and expand on it with new bits I have recently been told about. So the basis of spoon theory is complicated so I asked chat GPT for an explanation and it did a pretty good job: Spoon theory is aContinue reading “Spoon theory refined”

Annual pointlessness

Yesterday I spent an hour and a half in a meeting room at my daughter’s school. One with a giant window, where anyone walking past could see the private and confidential information projected onto a screen because a staff member thoughtfully decided it would be easier to read than huddling around a laptop. Nothing saysContinue reading “Annual pointlessness”

Anyone got a paddle?

For the last month our daughter hasn’t slept through more than one night a week. Most nights, if I’m lucky, I get a three hour block before I hear the tiny voice at the bedroom door informing me she “had a nightmare.” The nightmares, according to her, involve snakes, witches, monsters, spiders and, somewhat lessContinue reading “Anyone got a paddle?”

Earning his keep

We are a long way from having trained our puppy in any serious way. I mean that in both the sense of he’s not a service dog yet and in the sense that i spent the last week teaching him to play ‘the floor is lava’ and to drop to floor if I make aContinue reading “Earning his keep”