As a follow up to my post on the 18th February (that long ago??). I mentioned my eldest son was having to have an assessment about having two baby teeth out and we decided that he was to try a bit of happy gas to relax him enough to be able to proceed with the procedure. 

Well he managed it and was extremely brave. I think it's us parents that worry the most. If you're anything like me, my boy doesn't give much away in that he doesn't express his feelings too well so I'm not sure if he is in pain anxious or unwell, I have to go on certain behaviour or by just knowing his little ways. 

The dentist would only take one at a time so we had a week between appointments. Dad went with him on the first appointment, and he said he managed it all very well and the tooth literally came out in about 2 seconds. I took him on the second appointment and he went into room, dived on the chair and told ME exactly what they were going to do which such confidence and delight. I was amazed, he even unwrapped the little plastic mask and put it all together, the dentist checked it and then it was go and he started on the happy gas. The dentist and his assistant were absolutely brilliant, they asked him what he wanted to talk about and found subject and just chatted while the gas took effect. There was even a nice display projected on the ceiling to look at. The dentist explained everything he was going to do and by now he was quite used to my sons short attention span and laughed when my boy told him to just get on with it. I'm not sure how high his pain threshold is, must be quite high as he didn't seen to be phased by anything really. I suppose that's the magic of happy gas! A bit of a flinch at a some parts where it is a bit uncomfortable, at tugging stage but with the teeth being his first milk teeth they came out quickly. 

It's been a week of teeth extraction fun, my youngest had an adult tooth removed for spacing and in preparation for a brace, he did so well and when I saw the size of the tooth that comes out, I thought 'ouch' that's got to have been uncomfortable. It's very weird having a numb mouth isn't it? I think the injection is always the worst part and I find it amusing when you get to the point of involuntary drooling. Always a good look that one, especially if you've got to go and buy some paracetamol for later after the anaesthetic has worn off and you try to talk to a supermarket checkout person. Pop a raincoat on love while I try to purchase this pain relief while spitting all over you. All good fun.

I would like to thank Lawrence and the staff at Long Eaton Health Centre Dental Department for looking after my son in such a lovely way and just   having a great knowledge of how his autism does affect him. It is such a relief for me as a parent as we appreciate that level of care an attention, it just means a lot. They have said if he ever needs any more treatment they would happily help him again so a great experience for him there. I was so worried as my son has massive sensory issues so you just never know how something like this will go. It probably sounds a very small issue for some people but to our kids it's a big deal and when it goes well like this you feel like cheering and doing a happy dance. Instead we went to buy a couple of Thomas Mini Engines and a Thomas & Friends magazine for a treat. My son is till thinking what he wants as his treat! ha ha.

Thanks for reading and I'd like to think by passing this experience on it might give you a bit of hope that there are some good places to go and receive good treatment. If you have had a different experience or would like to pass on an equally good experiences please do let me know, just leave a comment below. I think it's good to pass on recommendations as it helps others to make decisions. 

Take care for now and I will be back tomorrow for 'Pass the Remote'

It's a long way.....to Tipperary.....no hang on we were going to Inverness and yes it is quite a way from our Derby home and also quite a journey for our eldest son with his Autism too. He tends to get very fed up and fidgety so on planning the holiday we had a bit of a think to see what the best way would be to tackle it. If you are an Autism family you will know quite well that it is all in the planning and Autism can be so unpredictable, you never quite know how it will pan out. It's a big huge risk we take and so many time our plans are dashed and we have to go back to the drawing board and start again. We are always learning aren't we? I'm amazed sometimes how I don't go around looking like Doc Brown from Back to the Future, a mad scientist look, dragged through a hedge backwards with all the things we have to sort out and go through but no I kind of manage a basic mum look and keep my white coat tucked away in my wardrobe. 

We decided to break the journey in half on the way there and on the way back and stopped off at a Travelodge on the M6 at Carlisle. This became the best idea ever as we got caught in massive delays due to roadworks on the way north and we were ready after five hours on the road to rest. 

Our little ray of sunshine and something that proved to be a massive success for our son was the portable DVD player. I honestly don't know what we would have done without this as with all his favourite dvd's packed he managed to travel with absolutely no problems at all. It got a bit loud around Glasgow but I always take a detour and go the wrong way anyway around this stage of the journey. Even using headphones has no effect at all, yes it blocks out the sound from the device but not from the operator. We sang along with Pooh bear and his pals and eventually got back on the right road to the north and well on our way. 

It is a great little machine, only £44.39 from Amazon and came complete with car charger, game disk with gaming remote too. Here is the link to this particular one but there are others available. 

www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Rechargeable-Battery-Protection-Controller/dp/B01LXOKMGG/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1492879012&sr=1-10&keywords=portable+dvd+player

I can honestly recommend it if you have a long journey to do but he used it on shorter journey's around the local area, at the cottage and in the hotel too so he has made full use of it. It's great as well as you don't have to worry about internet connection or space to download loads of films etc just a bit of room for the dvd's but that wasn't a problem. He packed his favourites in his bag and was very happy. Happy young man, happy mum so it was a winner. 

If you have any good tips for long journey's please let me know. I've always been a bit worried about going long distance but I feel a bit confident we could go somewhere again. 

Thanks for reading and for all your support, catch my round up of the weeks tv tomorrow on Pass the Remote.

Take care for now..........

I get asked a lot about gadgets and Autism, it's a topic that gets discussed a lot in our groups and parents sometimes have a real struggle about whether to allow so much interaction with phones, tablets, computers and tv's or limit it to the bare minimum.

This is a dilemma all parents face with or without Autism and it does come down to common sense and knowing your own child. No one is in any position to criticise peoples choices and there is no right or wrong.

Technology and everything that comes with it does have a place and people  on the autistic spectrum do find it relaxing to watch their favourite video on you tube or dvd's galore and interact using social media. Texting and emailing can be easier for someone who finds it hard to socially interact in  this big wide world, it can be a way of not having to battle with eye contact or feeling a little uncomfortable being face to face with someone. I find it much easier to communicate with my teccy stuff. I find my anxiety levels rise quite a bit when face to face as I try to work out the right things to say and to process the information some gives back to me. I feel I can't always do it in time and need a bit longer so typing gives me that opportunity and I like the swoosh sound when my emails go off into the big world wide webby place, magically appearing in someones mailbox. It still amazes me.

As parents we can spend too much time wondering whether our kids are on these gadgets too long Of course we need to monitor safety and we want them to enjoy what the rest of the world has to give but we don't want to stop the next Bill Gates from having their moment. Our kids are the future and their future is very different to our past as children. We live in different times and although some people don't like it I'm afraid it involves  technology.

My son is happy with his gadgets but is just as happy with some paper and a pencil, drawing and colouring to his hearts content. He likes to walk a lot as well so we have a balance and tend to go with the flow. That sounds like I let him do what he wants doesn't it? Believe me I don't but I've found that finding others ways to discipline and work with him rather than confiscating items and causing unnecessary anxiety tends to work for us. Like everything in our Autism world, we just have to adjust slightly and do things differently.

So if your stressing or wondering what the right thing is to do just try different things and see what works. Mess around with timing and schedules. Make a nice timetable or get kids to set their own reminders on these gadgets to do homework and take time out. They can learn so much from these things and homework, well thats just taken on a whole new lease of life since Google. I wish I had it back in the day to get me through my school work, I might have done a little better. Technology has created some amazing opportunities for people with Dyslexia with the help of voice activated programs amongst many things, my brother who has Dyslexia always thought spell check was a marvellous invention. 

I am one for my books on Kindle but do like to swap to a proper book now and again so we can all change our habits and vary what we do with technology. One thing is for sure it isn't going to go away so make of it what you will and just be happy!!!

See you back for more tomorrow with Pass the Remote 'Easter' Sunday.

It's a tricky one isn't it? I think after a diagnosis of our child or children with Autism we then question some of our own behaviour and our past. Some go as far as to actually get a diagnosis themselves which must come with mixed feelings, liberating for some and a bit of a shock for others.

People will comment and say 'no don't be silly'  but I think you know that deep within there are some aspects of your life that haven't made sense. This would change the statistics regarding Autism quite significantly. It was always considered that Autism was more common in boys rather than girls but now we are realising that girls just know how to mask their behaviour so I think it may be more common in girls than first thought. 

That's ok as I'm a girl and have wondered many a time that I may be on the spectrum, some may say we all are to a certain extent. I find great comfort in it and can step back in certain situations and realise why I'm feeling like I do in various situations and how some of my past, especially as a child now makes sense to me. We have a laugh as a family sometimes as we can see it may have been passed down the generations in some members and how they behave but no one has received an official  diagnosis, only my eldest son. 

I do find it interesting though as sometimes I think my sons diagnosis of Autism entered our lives for a reason, to make sense of life but to also help me to understand other people who struggle with being on the spectrum and maybe help in some way. At the moment it's through support as a parent but who knows where my path will take me. 

For now though I'm going to carry on as I am as I think I may be doing ok so far, its been about 21 years now (and another 20 odd on top of that I didn't mention) Please leave a comment as I would love to know what other people think and whether there are any parents out there that feel similar to myself. I read something the other day and I think it was a comment made by a young adult with Autism and it was to say that there were many views from parents who don't really know what it's like to have Autism but I think many do, I think there maybe a lot of parents who know exactly what it's like to have Autism whether it's experiencing it through their children or from their own personal experiences and who are a bit apprehensive to talk about it. This is my first time talking about it in such a public way. Autism can affect people whatever age they are, it's just a matter of finding that voice and speaking abut it. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you will pop back tomorrow for Pass the Remote Sunday......

As part of the Derby Branch of The National Autistic Society we were invited to go along to Severn Trent Water in Derby.

The company had decided to use Autism Awareness Week to take time out on their lunch hour and learn a little bit about Autism.

They were presented with a talk given by our branch officer and together we watched the Too Much Information video created by the NAS which gives people an idea of the sensory overload someone may experience when entering a shopping centre. The staff also had access to the 3D visual reality goggles which gave an even greater experience. This was the first time I had seen the goggles supplied by the NAS and we had to chuckle as when the goggles arrived there were no instructions so we all wondered whether this was a further experience of Autism where you just had to get into someone's mind and just work it out. I know my son can just ignore instructions and put things together sometimes and me? Well I just ignore instructions if they are there anyway, I'm too impatient to read them.

After my colleague had finished I then spoke about my experience of being a parent to someone on the spectrum. My first real talk, to public, real people! It was nice to be able to give my account and we did have other parents of children with Autism in the room so I think it may have helped them to hear from someone else who they could associate with, I hope so anyway. I hope it gave everyone an idea of not only how Autism affects someone with the condition but those around them and to allow inclusion in different situations. That's what the idea of raising awareness is all about and as the NAS say 'until everyone understands'.

I enjoyed my time there and thank all the staff and everyone involved who organised it. It was a very positive experience and felt empowering as a parent. If we can help to provide environments where people can understand the traits and quirks of Autism, certain behaviours and allow people to process information in an attempt to see themselves through education and find employment, wouldn't that be just great? Reassuring for someone like me too, after all I'm going to have to leave this world and leave my son with his Autism behind which I know, not just for me but for a lot of parents and carers this is a huge worry. I would like to think I could leave him in a world that understands him and would care, like I have for all of his life so far. 

If you would like anymore information on how you can help raise awareness go to www.autism.org.uk and if you would like any information from the Derby Branch of the NAS email us at [email protected]

Thank you for reading and I'll catch you tomorrow for some telly talk with Pass the Remote Sunday.