Dr. Who is coming to town...

The "Autism All Stars" organised an amazing event in Redhill.

Because our son loves robots, especially K9 and the Daleks, he was happy to see them in real life.   

With Cybermen

With the Doctor

He is posing with his favourite robot: K9

Big big thanks to all the volunteers and the Cosplayers! That was an unforgettable and happy day for us.

Something is wrong here

The ice-cream is upside down...

"People with autism may not be comfortable with the idea of change, but can cope well if they are prepared for it in advance." (source: nas.org.uk)

Autism Tales – Travel on the Spectrum

This chair is totally uncomfortable. It is too small for my butt. No surprise, really, because these chairs are designed for kids.

The whole situation is uncomfortable too, even apart from the stupid chair. Please… I’d rather sit on the floor.

Please. Can you slow down a bit? My English is terrible when I’m nervous.

I like it when you smile. That’s a good sign. But you’re asking your questions again and again.

Excuse me? Can you repeat your question?

Oh, okay. What do we do differently at home with the child?

I don’ really know. This is a tricky question.

Until now I could answer smoothly. For example, we noticed the first warning signs when he was a toddler. He was tiny, with amazing, curly, blonde hair. And he hit everything. With his head. Bang. Doorway. Bang. The cupboard.

It all started at that point. We padded whatever we could. We lived in a tiny flat on a university campus. Moving and living in it was a real art. We had to use sophisticated dancing moves to walk from one room to another. The bed was crazy. It folded up to the wall. I hated it. I worried every day that it would fall on the kids.

Yes, the whole story started from the headbangs. We padded and put corner protection on everything, and we used a whole range of security products to avoid the bumps.

We don’t need them anymore, but in the street they would be useful.

So many times he is still clumsy, or he is just distracted. You know, when he sees something interesting he walks right into concrete flowerpots.

But this is easy to understand, isn’t it? If you saw a winged zebra with a garden gnome dressed in a pink plush robe on its back, I bet you’d walk into lamp posts, too. To him, seeing a simple bike wheel has the same effect. This is why we always hold his hand on the street.

We never stop cartoons. It is not allowed, because then he feels something is broken; he loses the thread of the story. He then has to watch it all over again from the beginning. He is easily upset. So we never stop a cartoon in the pee-break, and when he comes back we just rewind it.

Tooth-brushing. Oh, this is another tricky topic. Tooth-brushing has to be done in a fixed order. Every. Single. Time. First goes his sister, then him. If we change the order, or anything else at all, the morning starts in a very, very difficult way.

You know, it’s the same feeling you get when there’s a small pebble in your shoe and you can’t take it off. Or when you miss your morning coffee and the whole day is spoilt.

And when his morning starts wrong, he’ll have a meltdown by midday.

What can I do? When he has a meltdown or when he starts having tics and shouting? I’ll sit on the ground in front of him. Anywhere. Even on the street. Yes. When the ground is muddy, I try to just squat, but sometimes that is impossible. But never mind, I have many mud-resistant trousers. Why do I sit?

Can you imagine the feeling of being totally upset and at the same time being towered over by some big giant? That can be terrifying. It would make me even angrier and more upset.

Do you know he always says the truth? He never beats around the bush. Sometime this can be embarrassing, sometimes it’s really good. Being honest is important and a good thing.

By the way, can you ask me less silly questions? I know it sounds really stupid, but I have no idea how other families cope with everyday challenges.

He is different and he sees the word in a different way. And our family is different because of him. But this is good for us.

And can we get off these terrible chairs, please? What? You prefer to sit on the floor as well? Why didn’t you tell me? Being honest is important and a good thing.