Toilet training a child is never going to be easy or straight-forward, and helping a child with special needs to gain the skills needed to gain bladder and bowel control can be very challenging for even the most patient parent. There are
Taking the stress out of cutting children’s fingernails
What do you do if your child can’t tolerate their finger or toenails being cut? It’s a very common problem in families where there are children with Sensory Processing Disorders or who are on the Autistic Spectrum. Parents try every
Recognising pain in the non-verbal child
Why my son can’t talk My son, Toby, is non-verbal. He is two days away from his 21st birthday and he has a handful of single words, mostly names of the people he loves or the activities he likes to
Just Imagine
Guest post by Linda Morbin, about her daughter with TSC Just imagine you’re a parent. Maybe that is not difficult to do, because maybe you are. Just imagine that this little beautiful bundle is the most precious, beautiful thing you
Happy SEND Christmas
It’s almost Christmas, there’s still a load to do, you don’t feel in the least bit festive because you know there’ll be at least one meltdown on Christmas day, Right now all you want to do is to sit on
Why can’t meetings be kind?
Parents like me, those who have disabled children, rely heavily on some fabulous people who have the skills and the know-how to help our children fulfil their potential, and work with them as teachers, health-care practitioners, therapists and social care
Biting off more than I can chew
Well, it all seemed like a very good idea some weeks ago now, in the way that we somehow believe that things will all work out fine and we’ll have loads of spare capacity to cope with things we’d never
I had Cancer on Saturday and it was Good
Today, it was cancer treatment day, yes I have cancer, yes it’s spread to my spine, and no, I don’t know how long I have left. Today I woke up to the news that the much-loved and inspirational actress, Lynda
How not to do Partnership-Working
When I wrote “The Special Parent’s Handbook” I included a lot about the difficulties my family had faced with their encounters with education, health and social care professionals over the years. I’ve written extensively on this subject, I’ve given
What do you do when CAMHS can’t help?
CAMHS Services around the country are often under-resourced and over-stretched. If a child or young person develops a mental health issue, CAMHS may be able to offer regular appointments but there may be a long waiting list for an initial
