50 days of River

Fifty days of River: Connection, isolation and everything in between.

autism

  • Trying Something New

    A Family of Sport Yesterday, we tried something new. We really want River to be able to enjoy and join in with sports. Kike has been an athlete all of his life, always being in teams, gaining a basketball scholarship, finding a love of jiu-jitsu and now obviously owning his CrossFit gym. Believe it or… Read more

  • The Day I Sent River in Uniform

    A Parenting Fail (Or Was It?) So just a quick one tonight. I wasn’t planning on writing anything as it’s been a long week and honestly I’m very tired. But today I did a classic parenting fail and thought I should reflect on it. Summer’s Cultural Day At my daughter’s school they had a Cultural… Read more

  • River’s October Obsession

    So, it’s October 1st and you know what that means.Well, actually, you probably don’t… unless you live in a house with a small autistic boy who has been obsessed with Halloween since July 2024. Today marks the official start of Halloween in our house. And honestly? If you can’t beat them, join them. Halloween: A… Read more

  • River’s EHCP

    Big news in our house on Friday, River received his EHCP. What is an EHCP? An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). It pulls together input from psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and sets out: For River,… Read more

  • Autism is Not an Epidemic

    Like many of you I’ve been following the latest comments from President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with anger and sadness. The National Autistic Society have already issued a powerful statement calling out their “fake news and offensive statements,” and I want to stand alongside them and alongside Autistic people everywhere. Words Have… Read more

  • Day 50:Not the End, Just the First Fifty

    So here we are. Day 50. When I started writing back in July, it was less about telling a story and more about surviving one. Seven long weeks stretched ahead of us with no Nursery, two children at home and me already tired before we’d even begun. I wrote one day at a time because… Read more

  • Day 47: Pirates, Picnics and the Deep Dark Wood

    A Slow Start to Sunday I asked Kike to take Summer to swimming this morning. I’d gone to bed fairly early but I just couldn’t face another 9am club. It still meant I was up with River but once he’s got his breakfast and his shows, he’s pretty easy company. I haven’t done a full… Read more

  • Day 46: Not a Superpower

    A Broken Night and a Slow Start We had more potty problems through the night and it carried on through the day. I think River may have caught a little bug. Kike’s not been well this week, so it could be connected. He had to work this morning, which left me with both kids. Thankfully,… Read more

  • Day 45: Potty Progress and Finding Myself

    Broken Night River’s night was broken. Twice he wet through his sheets. I’m not sure what caused it. To be clear, River isn’t fully potty trained yet. Last summer we worked so hard on this as he was starting Nursery and I knew what children at that age are supposed to do. At the time,… Read more

  • Day 42: Umbrella Hunts and Train Tracks

    Mornings on Repeat Honestly, it’s getting silly now. My alarm went off at 7am. I got up, showered and went to check on River. Asleep. He stirred only when I stood there watching him, mumbled “Hello Mummy” and shuffled to the toilet rubbing his eyes. That was the extent of our morning together, just enough… Read more