A few days ago I saw a Disney Pixar short film called “Float”, and it broke my heart. The day that I saw it, I watched it probably 20 times and sobbed. I shared it with my husband and watched his heart break as he played it too.  Since that day, I feel like I have been processing so many emotions, I feel sick and exhausted. I know that it is due to the feelings that came up when watching that film. I highly recommend that every parent should watch this, and you can do so on Disney+, or watch this powerful video that was shared by Super Jax on Facebook.  Float is a short film that is ..read more

After the passing of Caroline Flack, the words “Be Kind” are being thrown around everywhere. But I sometimes question whether we REALLY can as a human race work towards kindness as a goal and whether we TRULY understand how important it really is. Honestly, Caroline’s passing affected me deeply. Because I saw someone whose life was destroyed by societal constructs, systems that are harmful, mental health issues that are unsupported, and ultimately bullying and hatred. In truth, it is all of these things that fill me with dread for the future of both of my young girls. Yet, despite these fears ..read more

Today is the European day of Speech and Language Therapy. Each year it has a different theme and for this year, it is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). So, I thought it would be fitting to use today to share with you our story and journey (so far), and to spread some light on what it means to have a child with Autism who requires significant support with developing speech and language skills. So many of us, as parents, take for granted our child’s spoken language. We take for granted their ability to express their needs, tell us what hurts so that we can fix it, and tell us that they love us. Bu ..read more

I wrote this blog post for my beautiful friend Victoria, who is raising money for a good cause that is close to my heart. She featured my story on her personal blog (www.30thingsfor30years.com) which covers her journey to do 30 things to challenge herself during her 30th year…while raising money for worthy causes in the process. I wanted to share it here too so that we can support her! Guest Blog – 30 Things for 30 Years. I was so honoured when my beautiful friend Victoria asked if I’d like to write a guest blog for her 30 things for 30 years. Victoria and I first met a couple of years ago, wh ..read more

This blog post is written by my father. He has received several requests for access to a summary that he created for me, to help me advocate for my daughter, so asked if I could publish it here to make it more accessible. We hope that it helps anyone else in Scotland who is trying to gain a deeper understanding of the rights for their children. Summary of the rights of children and the duties of the Local Authority under the “Supporting Children’s Learning: Statutory Guidance on the Education (Additional Support for Learning) Scotland Act 2004 (as amended) Code of Practice (3rd Edition) 2 ..read more

I almost didn’t post this blog. I was worried it was too raw, too real, and too negative. But then I remembered I started this blog because I need to share our truth, and our journey. That includes the good and the bad. To do the most good, I have to be the most unapologetic authentic me as I can be. Every emotion that comes up in life has the right to be heard, acknowledged and expressed, or else it becomes trapped. There is value in the pain, the struggle and the humanness… So here it is: The Reason I Cry I cry because I don’t want this to be our life. I didn’t choose it. I choose you, but I ..read more

8 things I’ve learned in the year since our Autism diagnosis. Today marks a year to the day that my eldest daughter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This day sits heavily in my heart because while I accept and embrace my daughter for everything she is, a year ago today, was one of the hardest days of my life. But in the last 12 months so much has changed, and I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be a parent to a child with autism, as well as learning more and more about my daughter as an individual. So today, instead of feeling sadness, I want to share the biggest lessons I’ve ..read more

Expectations truly are a thief of joy. When we received my daughter’s diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder at age two, my heart broke into a million pieces. Everything that I had expected that my daughter would have, do, love, be, was altered in that very instant. I had done all the research, I had pushed for the assessment, as I knew in my heart that something wasn’t quite “normal” (whatever that means). I had expected the diagnosis and so had expected that I would be able to handle this confirmation of my fears. But I didn’t – I couldn’t help but grieve the loss of what I thought my life wo ..read more

For those of you that haven’t read my blog posts before, my daughter, Erin has autism.  She is happy, whimsical, magical and a big bright light that shines in every room. But she doesn’t talk, she doesn’t interact or play with the other children, in fact you will normally find her alone in the corner doing her own thing. As a mother, you can’t help but feel a sadness that she doesn’t yet have “friends” in the typical sense. Nor does she seem to enjoy the simple things that others take for granted – a bed time story, games, arts and crafts! We often can’t go to the usual classes, parties ..read more

I’ll never forget the day that someone used the phrase “The A Word” when discussing my daughter. “The A Word” as in Autism. I still wonder what it was that made them feel unable to speak the word Autism out loud … Is it taboo? Something to be hide? Or did they just feel awkward? I didn’t know what to think at the time, but this is an open letter to anyone contemplating using this phrase – please don’t – and I’ll explain why. Autism doesn’t define my daughter, it is a very small part of her.  But it also isn’t something we need to shy away from. I want her to grow up feeling proud of ..read more