Michelle Tant

We are nearly 6 months into our sons diagnosis with autism and I do feel we are still on the steep end of the learning wedge. I feel there is so much I don't yet know and there really is a lot of conflicting information out there and while I generally feel I can pick my way through it, what is becoming increasingly apparent is that while autism is a THING, it is not a thing firmly wedged in a box. Yes there is the triad of 'impairments ' but there is a range within those too. So you have multiple spectrums within the spectrum. So this post is a bit of a collection  of the information we have gathered along the way as well as a record of how we're feeling and coping too. We don't tell lots of people about his autism, mainly because the people who matter already know, but also because of the lack of understanding we have already encountered. Many people hear 'autism' and assume the person will be non-verbal, unable to make eye contact and hand-flap all day (...

My 4 year old son starts school in September and of course in any family this is big news. My baby boy is growing up, leaving nursery and joining big school with his big brother and his baby sister is taking his place at nursery. Part of the normal cycle of family life. For us though, this has been anything but normal. When I think back to when number one son started school, my feelings couldn't have been more different. I was confident about his ability to fit in, to progress, to get the most out of school. I took it absolutely for granted that this next step in his life would go smoothly, that after a couple of (expected) tears at the classroom door, that he would be flying. And he has... he is happy, popular, well behaved, progressing academically and apparently a pleasure to have in the class. My second son is a sociable, beautiful character with a delightful sense of humour. He has brilliant rythym and loves music. He is a speed demon on his scooter and he will bounce happ...