Still no diagnosis

Every couple of years I meet with Smiley's neurologist, and every time the result is the same: she is still a medical mystery. She's had the MRI scan, she's been through the genetic testing and the...

G is for Guilt

Dear Me, Do you remember what it was like before you had kids? You didn't feel guilty in those days. And then again, the first four years of mother hood were largely guilt free too. You went out to...

What does a groupie do when she grows up?

I was riveted by a documentary about The Eagles on Saturday night. Not my normal choice of music, but the band was part of the soundtrack to my teenage years. It was an amazing story brilliantly...

On the last day

It's just me and her on the last day of the long weekend, as aspie boy has gone back to school. I was expecting problems, but there were none. So for a few hours there will be no treading on...

Eight songs that stop me breaking plates

I hate bank holidays. I really do. Especially sunny ones. They just emphasise how different life is in this family now. Towards the end of the afternoon we did get out briefly, after much...

Silent Sunday 2.6.13

What if...

It's more than 50 years since I was born, and somehow I thought that during my lifetime the world would become a better place. It hasn't happened. Instead the news is stuffed full of stories about...

Reasons to be Cheerful 30.5.13

It's been a funny old week: the big event was my 20 year old leaving to spend the summer in the US. Exciting for her, and a bit emotional for me: At the airport... But a lot of other things...

She's leaving, on a jet plane ..

You have another child? Sometimes I'm asked that question. It shows just how much special needs dominates my life. And the answer is: Yes, I do. She's twenty now, lives at home (mostly) and attends...

Silent Sunday 19.5.13

Meltdowns, watch-whers and reasons to be cheerful

It's been a stormy week in this house, and everyone except Smiley was affected by the fallout from aspie boy's meltdowns: both parents, staff and pupils at his school, and his big sister too. He...

Dear Mr Brewer

Please take a close look at my daughter. She's one of those disabled kids. The kind you allegedly said should only be allowed to live after the cost has been evaluated. She has cost A LOT since she...

The p*nis dress. The road trip. And the book.

I must be the only middle aged women who could buy a dress, wear it to an important function, and only realise afterwards that it has actual w*llies on it. Seriously. And I bought it in a proper...

What do kids want from their parents?

Another bank holiday stretched ahead full of possibilities for cooking and cleaning. But what about the kids? What do they want to do? What do they want from me? Almost every day off would involve...

The house of sick

I'd forgotten what it was like. Real illness. Once all the tonsils were removed from this household we have been a very healthy bunch. Until last week that is. It began on a Monday when Smiley came...

"A hug in a mug" Higher Living Herbal Tea: A REVIEW

So what's a coffeeholic doing reviewing Higher Living Herbal Tea you might ask? Well I didn't get the boxes of tea for me. You may remember that I have a very health conscious 20 year old. She's...

The Pity Party

Now that really put you off reading didn't it? I try to be positive, I really do, but occasionally you get a reminder of why having children with special needs means that your life will always be...

The Meningitis scare

It started like any other school morning with young children. A mad scramble to organise clothes and cereal and school bags and teeth cleaning... But I noticed that my son was looking a bit peaky....

Reasons to be Cheerful 18.4.13

Did you ever sign up for something in a moment of blind faith and enthusiasm and afterwards wonder what you've done and can you get out of it? Did I really want to cross the city during the rush...

How Billy Bragg got me through the Thatcher years

I've listened to music a lot more than usual over the last couple of weeks. Every time Mrs Thatcher's name was mentioned on the radio, I changed station. Even though she has now died, her name...

Reasons to be cheerful 11.4.13

The clocks have gone forward, the chocolate eggs are only recalled by tighter waistbands, and the children have crept unwillingly back to school. The plan to live life in the slow lane continued...

What the NHS meant to me

I thought it was a bad April fool, but no, apparently it's true, The Guardian says so.. "The NHS, as we know it, will effectively be abolished just short of its 65th birthday." I grew up in...

What I wish I'd known about Aspergers

Aspie boy is my third child, and not diagnosed until the age of 8. Getting the diagnosis was a relief, it seemed to explain his differences, and would surely mean that he would get the help and...

The floortime beauty salon

Before I'd ever heard of floortime as an autism therapy, I had this idea that spending time on the floor would be a good idea for kids who are stuck in wheelchairs. After all it's not natural, is...

Silent Sunday 31.3.13

Reasons to be cheerful 28.3.13

I've not been a happy bunny this week, despite the promise of lots and lots of chocolate at the weekend. I've got Easter holiday cabin fever, and the news in Ireland and overseas has been very...

March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

And today is National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day in the US. I don't think that cerebral palsy gets as much attention as other disorders and I was unaware of these campaigns until today. So I feel...

Would a savings tax be better than a property tax?

"Where is the compassion?" That was the question from a caller to a radio show yesterday about the new property tax in Ireland. Where indeed. We've all heard the cold hard intimidating voices of...

All of the day and all of the night

No-one tells you the truth about parenting, do they? BB (before baby) most of us hear the rumours about the sleepless nights with small babies, but we don't realise that it doesn't end there.......

Respite, giggles and more messy medical stuff

It's been a long time since Smiley was in respite, and the last overnight ended in tears, lots of them. But my social worker did not give up and by Christmas she had another plan. A small respite...