Graduation Day

Since when did nursery graduations become a thing? I'm sure I never had one, but last year my eldest daughter had two, complete with ribbon-tied certificates, gowns, mortar boards (long relegated to the bottom of the dressing-up box), and the obligatory cake. Lovely as they were, I couldn't help thinking this was all a little …

Captain Endurance and the Imperturbable Girls

I have to admit, I’m not really up on my superheroes. I understand things have moved on a bit from Thundercats (I wasn’t allowed to watch He-Man and the Masters of the Universe because it was on ITV and therefore infra dig). I’m painfully aware of the PJ Masks, thanks to my six-year-old and YouTube, …

Torn

We are just back from weekend trip to Aberdeen. I say ‘we’. I mean my husband and I, and the two girls. Our first trip away without Benjamin. I think we pulled off a pretty good impression of a ‘normal’ family on a ‘normal’ trip. Dare I say 'minibreak'? A few bags slung into the boot …

When you love church but your child hates it

The Christian Church is far from perfect. I, and my family, are so lucky to have found in St Anne's a small branch that is growing, thriving, outward-focused, community-centred, accepting, caring and inclusive. We are fortunate that Benjamin, although 'complex,' is not 'challenging.' Yet I am confident that, even if he were noisy, disruptive, violent, …

Five things I’d change

This post was written for the #SEND30daychallenge, day 7: ‘Five things you’d change.’ We are so fortunate to live in Scotland, where there are really very few things that need to be changed so that Benjamin, and children like him, can live a safe, healthy, and happy life for as long as their biology and …

Therapy for two

To be honest, I’m terrible at making time to do therapy with Benjamin. A quick stretch while I’m changing his nappy. A couple of rolls when we’re getting dressed in the morning. Plonk him in his chair facing in a slightly different direction each day, give him some toys to look at and that’s about …