While we were on holiday in the summer I heard about the Carers UK short story writing competition. When I previously tried to write a short story for a writing class I attended I had failed completely. For me writing is all about where I've been, how I felt and what I've learnt. When imagination was being given [...]
I believe words are powerful although it is our attitude that makes a word either offensive or complimentary. A good friend of mine once received a call from her son's teacher explaining he had sworn in class. He had just joined a school with a specialist unit for deaf kids. The teacher described how he used the sign for 'shit' in the classroom [...]
There have been occasions when it has felt as though every time I picked up my youngest son from school he stumbled out of class clutching a piece of paper. A sticker on his chest brazenly claimed, "Today I bumped my head". I'm then given all the gory details of how his most recent injury occurred. J [...]
As well as trials, there are many advantages to loving and parenting a child with severe and complex disabilities. Here are my Top 10 Advantages. 1) Disabled Bays No more aimlessly driving around a crowded car-park. With your precious Blue Badge, you get to park in Disabled bays (assuming some unworthy driver hasn't already nabbed it). [...]
Holidays funnel my life. They distil my stresses and strains into a finite experience. They polarise the difference between being a mum to each of my boys. Every parent knows that once you have children, holidays are never the same again. Relaxing breaks riddled with lie-ins, evenings out and lazy pub lunches become a fond and [...]
A while ago, the news showed the Pope participating in a Drive-by. It didn't involve gun shots or a high-speed getaway but rather a prayer, a kiss and a blessing. Along a road the Pope was expected to be travelling, the family of a young woman set up posters requesting he stop and pray. Click here to watch the highly charged 30-second video [...]
Last week, I was lying on a Thomas the Tank engine blanket in my garden soaking up some sun. We had spent part of the morning watching my eldest son in his sports day. If I'm honest it's never a good day for me. My competitive nature struggles to see my boy strive to participate in [...]
I like a good hero. Someone to admire and aspire to be like. I'm not so big on the pants over trousers thing but I guess if needs must. Last weekend I went to see Music is Magic at the Cliffs Pavilion. It was an extraordinary evening of music and singing. With the curtain down everyone packed [...]
For me becoming a parent has involved changes, insights and rewards. Here's my A-Z of Parenting a son living with complex disabilities and life-limiting epilepsy. A is for Adaptations including changing routine, adapting clothing, moving to a bungalow or adjusting my dreams; one thing is true, I had to adapt. B Body building Arnold Schwarzenegger watch out! My [...]
I've been thinking about positive communication and good things to say to parents of a child with a disability. (By saying I mean communication in general terms rather than simply words.) Stranger passing in the street Hello saying hello is a nice thing to do. Smile you can't go wrong with a smile. Open the door [...]
