These road-trips are important to keep James connected with the outside world. He would lose touch with so much that we all take for granted without them. As we approach the summer holidays and there is more time available, we hope to support James to increase the number of road-trips we can go on during the week. As his confidence grows, we hope to hear him saying that he is “Appy!” more and more!
We have at least eight senses; five that we can all think of, sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, as well as at least three ‘mystery’ senses that we might not know so much about, including vestibular (balance and movement), proprioception (body awareness), and interoception (awareness of what’s happening inside the body).
I don't know about in your house, but here Christmas is one of the favourite times of the year, especially for our son James who has multiple additional needs. A month on from Christmas and James was missing the Christmas spirit, so we got him to help make a reminder that he can look at all year round!
Wherever you experience or notice conflict, harshness, unkindness, lack of understanding, and other forms of negativity, let our first response not be to pay it back in return, but to take a deep breath, consider for a moment what might have caused that negativity, and make the choice to show kindness instead. Let us ‘Love one another deeply. Honour others more than yourselves.’ and turn anger, barriers, and criticism into alliances, bridges, and compassion. If we work together on this, maybe, just maybe, it can be as simple as abc!
Let's celebrate our 'badges' and use them to be a help and a blessing to people who are new to our 'pack', who haven't earned their 'badge' yet, but are working towards it.
What really caught my attention, however, was that none of these families are able to access essential respite support for their child. In every case, Local Authorities have essentially left the families to cope on their own with no opportunities for a much needed chance to recharge their batteries.
So many people said how valuable the evening had been. To gather with other parents, carers, and guardians, who are on a similar journey to themselves; to not feel so isolated and alone; to forge connections and friendships; all was hugely helpful.
I hope that our segment highlighted the challenges, but also the joys, of our story, and echoed the stories of families like ours across the country.
The Dad's that come along are from all over the UK and even further afield in some cases, but each one finds a place where they are understood, seen, listened to, and are no longer alone...
...In desperation, they reached out to their church and asked if there was anything that the church could do to help… and their church stepped up magnificently. Here are just some of the things the church did...
Delightful Handmade Dog Products and Gifts
An additional needs Dad and Son baking adventure...
Special Education Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
The Additional Needs Blogfather 