I was recently introduced to the incredible work of a young autistic man called Chris Baker – a self-taught artist from Cardiff, South Wales. I found his art so inspiring that I decided to find out more, and discovered the story of an ordinary family whose love, acceptance and determination to turn challenges into opportunities …
When you have a child, there’s something nobody tells you: suddenly your first priority becomes another person’s needs instead of your own, and this can take a lot of getting used to. Then comes the twist: as soon as you’ve adjusted to them being totally dependent on you, you have to start the impossibly difficult …
One of the most common myths about autistic people is that they don’t feel empathy towards others, and today’s post is designed to help people understand where this mistaken belief comes from. So, what is empathy? Put simply, empathy is the ability to understand what another person is thinking or feeling; but in reality, empathy …
I recently watched Please Stand By, which is the story of one autistic woman’s journey towards independence and follows her on an adventure with the sort of highs and lows we can all relate to. Here are my thoughts on the film… Played by the brilliant Dakota Fanning, our heroine Wendy is a bright, determined …
Today I’m sharing another extract from my book – The Ringmaster’s Tale – discussing just how useful special interests can be when you’re parenting an autistic child (or adult). It’s perfectly understandable that at times you’ll feel like your child is unreachable, and the struggle to teach them new life skills can be disheartening to …
