How to care for someone who cannot tell you where hurts This has been my most requested post and there seems no better time to write it than as we enter the colder months, amidst the coronavirus pandemic. I am a mother of five and two of my sons have profound non-verbal autism with high…
Tag: Autism
Potager Garden: Stream watching, borrowed hats and precious food
We continue adapting to this new, quiet time in our lives. I am noticing little changes. Food, for example, is suddenly becoming very important due to the shortages. We seem to talk about it a lot more than normal. Our autistic sons have very restrictive diets, therefore we are saving all of the plain items…
Almanac: Sunshine, doorstep parcels and fresh air
In the national lock down, we are all permitted to leave the house for exercise and fresh air once a day, as long as we keep our distance from those that are not from our household. Today is the perfect spring day; warm like summer, with a gentle breeze. I’m walking with my ten year…
Potager Garden: Seedlings, hidden veggies and finding a calm, centred place
I found an old camping table in the garage that looked like the perfect size for our youngest gardener. She was delighted and immediately set up a shop and started attempting to sell my pots onto her older siblings. Our second son has been watching his seedlings grow on the windowsill. Every morning he eagerly…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Arriving in Edinburgh, unexpected changes and the historic apartment
For the last part of our Spring Tour of Scotland, we have booked to stay in an apartment that overlooks West Bow. As we arrive, everywhere is bustling. It is a complete culture shock after staying in an isolated cottage in the mountains. The second thing that strikes me after the noise of the crowds…
Potager Garden: Winter pots, the briefest snow shower and homemade lavender soap
Our toddler daughter has become custodian of the assorted terracotta pots of late winter bulbs. Every day, she carefully lifts them over to the raised beds for inspection. Each crocus is petted, kissed and whispered to, before being placed back on the wooden ledge. I wonder what she is telling them for it must be…
Almanac: A mindful, whispered birthday for our youngest son
Our youngest son is nervous about birthdays, particularly his own. Bright, crinkling, ripping paper, and the unknown surprise within. Loved ones loudly singing happy birthday in unison. Iced cakes with smoky candles. Being the centre of everyone’s attention. For a child with sensory autism, even happy events can be a little too much. For the…
Almanac: Winter woodland – The delight to be found in the simplest of things
Dusk falls in the winter woodland. The birdsong echoes out more clearly without the rustle of summer leaves. My 18 month old daughter has recently learnt the word, “another.” From behind me, where she sits in her carrier, she excitedly calls “tree!” A pause. “An-o-ther tree!” A pause. We wait. Luckily, she has been distracted…
Almanac: Winter frosts, finding shadows and the missing trees
A frosty cold morning, one Sunday in January. On days like this it is best to get outside quickly, before the sun has a chance to melt the crispness away. The frost creates beauty wherever it falls. We encourage the children to listen to the crunch underfoot. This is rare and a special part of…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Sunset at Durness and a heather burning
We left our little holiday cottage near Scourie as dusk fell, taking the road north to watch the sun setting over Durness beach. Driving very carefully, due to livestock not hearing our car’s electric engine, we roll over a road marking that makes me smile. Slow is an instruction not just for the vehicle but…
Potager Garden: February 2020
My little helper, who pulls on her boots the moment she sees me fetch the kitchen door key, joins me in the garden today. I’m so pleased to see tiny crocuses popping up in the old terracotta pots I bought from the library plant sale last year. I like the look of these old frost-hardened…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – A little cottage near Scourie and a riverside adventure
We arrive at our holiday cottage, a little north of Scourie, in the late afternoon. It is early April and spring has sprung in the mountains. The little garden is carpeted with daffodils and, just beyond, a small wooden gate leads out to the river bank. The skies are still blue, and the trees are…
