Autism: To Have or To Be

  Here in Australia April is the middle month of Autumn. The weather is cooling down and the deciduous leaves are starting to change colour. April is also home to World Autism Day, Autism Awareness Week and Autism Awareness Month. It might seem a little funny to have one day or one week or a …

An Extrovert in the House

Do you like time to yourself? Do you like to have time to think through problems or decisions before responding? Do you prefer communicating through writing rather than talking? If you have answered yes to all of the above, than most likely you are an introvert, just like Bec and I. We like peace and …

Dan the Mailman

In this digital age, an actual letter in the letterbox is a rare occurrence. Most of our mail is announced with a ping in the inbox rather than the roar of a motorbike. Yet every day we still trek out to the letterbox, just in case there is something to retrieve. However, apart from the …

A Sticker for the Ow

One of the challenges of Dan's autism is his high pain threshold. We often don't know that something is wrong until it is very wrong. Recently Dan went to bed one evening  perfectly fine, but the next morning he could barely hobble to the kitchen table to have breakfast. What's wrong? Why are you limping? …

Caring for the Carer

Life is a difficult balancing act. Most of us are trying to juggle work and family commitments while also trying to maintain our own well-being and sanity. For the most part, it works, even if sometimes it’s a mad scramble and there are a few near-misses. Occasionally though, it doesn’t work and everything falls in …

Hanging Out with the Boys

Hanging out with your friends is something that most young people take for granted. Going out for a drink, watching a movie or cheering your favourite sporting team are all rites of passage on the journey to independence. Young people meet up, hang out and bond together spontaneously without hardly a second thought. But if …

The Carer’s Road

Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. Matsuo Basho  From the moment we are born, a path stretches out before us. We don't know where it will lead. We just begin, one step at a time. Sometimes the way is a smooth, well-worn path and at other times it feels like …

The Journey into Autism

The word ‘journey’ can conjure a variety of images in our minds. Perhaps you imagine packing your bags and catching a plane for that once in a lifetime trip around the world. Or perhaps you think about stepping into the great unknown, travelling down an unfamiliar track, not knowing where you will spend the night …

Miss You Too, Buddy

Lately I have had to spend a lot of time in Brisbane. It's not easy for country kids to move to the city to attend university. The city is a noisy, crowded, busy place. It is an unfamiliar place, teeming with strangers and unfamiliar sounds, smells and routines. Bec is a quiet kind of kid. …

For the 18th Time

We are moving house - again. For me, it will be move number 18. And I expect I can look forward to a few more moves yet. I don't remember my first move. I was only about three when my family moved from a small country town to Adelaide, where I grew up. Almost my …