Over the last three weeks, our pets have been tag-teaming to see which of them can cost us the most at the vet. The cat started it, because of course she did. Or perhaps she felt it had been several months since the puppy ate something he shouldn’t and decided it was her turn toContinue reading “A cat, a dog and the survival instincts of a depressed lemming”
Category Archives: Surreal life
According to the internet we need more cats
When my daughter was first diagnosed as autistic, I did what I’m sure many parents do: I delved far too deeply into the online rabbit hole of misinformation, anecdotal stories and personal accounts from autistic people and other parents in our situation. I wanted to know everything I could. I wanted to start planning forContinue reading “According to the internet we need more cats”
The tale of the Secret Bunker
I don’t know if this is because of her recent obsession with Minecraft, a sudden fear of nuclear war, or a deep, unsatisfied desire to become a mountain troll, but recently my daughter presented me with several pages from her journal and a Very Serious Expression. I was expected to understand the gravity of theContinue reading “The tale of the Secret Bunker”
The wrong end of the imaginary unicorn
I have touched on before the stereotypical idea that autistic people lack imagination. I initially wrote “ASD sufferers” there, hated it immediately, stared at it for a while and eventually settled on “autistic people”, which is both considerably less depressing and doesn’t make autism sound like a particularly nasty bout of flu. Anyway. I haveContinue reading “The wrong end of the imaginary unicorn”
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?”
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”
