Mr T went on the move today as he swapped rooms with his brother. We've been working up to this for a few weeks as at first he wasn't too keen. You see he had the slightly larger room and it was only fair that after a few years now they should take it in turns to have the big room. 

He had to downsize quite a bit and get rid of a lot of toys which to be fair he wasn't using a lot of them anyway so it was a good chance to have a clear out. He knew what he wanted to keep and what to let go of but if you asked him if he was ready to move he would tut and shrug. I felt really bad because he was used to his room and had everything where he wanted it so I really thought it may not be the right decision.

We took time to prepare him and we talked about it and he was for it but you could tell there were reservations but today we went for it. He would pop up and have a look at how everything was going then go away from it but then when we moved all his things into his new room he could see that it was going to be just as it was but with just a little less space. 

Well he came up to me and said 'Babs (my nickname) you were right, it is good to take it in turns with our rooms'. I then felt ok about it all and he was going to be happy. His room actually looks better, it's snug but he likes it and that's all that matters. I think initially he couldn't imagine what it was going to look like and how it was going to go but when he saw that he would still be able to have his computer and his tv and all his things around him he was quite relieved.

I think it had helped that we didn't rush it either. I was ready to draw a plan if needed but we just kept talking about it gradually until he got his head around it. He is now asleep in bed and all is quiet, in fact more settled and quiet than usual. Could be early days but it may have been the best thing to do.

His brother is happy too having more room, he had his very first migraine and christened the new room with a bit of sickness (caught in the sick bowl phew!). So it's been a bit of a busy day, a lot of change but hey we got through and I'm proud of my boys, the way they have come together and respected each other, helped to make each other feel good and happy about their new spaces. Me, well I'm off to bed as I now have to start sorting some old toys out. I'm going to be busy sorting for charity and a bit of ebaying, a perfect job for half term. 

Thank you for reading today, please join me again tomorrow for a chat about the tv on Pass the Remote Sunday but for now........ take care.

For the past two years my son has had a taxi to take him to college which has been very useful and needed at the time. We were very lucky to have one awarded as not everyone is able to get one at Post 16 stage and also with so many council cut these days. Mainly because of that reason and others too I took over the college run and I have to say it's one of the most entertaining parts of my day.

My son is unable to manage two buses to college and some say I should have still tried to claim the taxi again but I felt the need to do this myself this time. He isn't the easiest of passengers sometimes and maybe with he amount of stimming and flapping some may think it may be best that he sits in the back but I wouldn't get the same interaction then. Obviously if it was unsafe I would suggest he sat in the back of the car but I love our conversation.

By conversation or communication I don't mean chit chat because that's not what Mr T does but he uses his visor mirror to interact and most of the time we have to sing along to a Beatles CD, dance moves in their too.

If you see us on our journey in Derby then you will know Mr T very well as he is a vibrant character while on the road and as passengers go not at all boring. I always think what the taxi drivers have thought in the last two years, they probably needed a bit of a lie down after their shift but I don't on mine. I love this time with my son, it's one time when we have 'our' time and in the world of autism sometimes that time is a bit lost so I'm grateful.

Can you remember those Garfield characters you could get to stick on a car window that looked as if Garfield was slammed up against the window? Yep sometimes that's Mr T but sometimes he can be contemplating, no time for interaction unless it's to tell me to be more patient with other drivers. 'Everyone has to be patient these days my dear Babs' he will say to me, my nickname was Suzy Babs at one time. Someone said that my sense of humour reminded them of Barbara Windsor as I used to use so many innuendos in a conversation I was my own Carry On movie, so that's where that comes from.

So I've been grateful for a taxi but I'm liking Mum's Taxi more and I think Mr T does too so a happy chappy. 

Thank you very much for reading......come back tomorrow for Pass the Remote Sunday but for now......

Take care. 

Well done to Loose Women this week for providing the first Autism Hour on a TV Show. Last Saturday I spoke about Autism Hour taking place in many shops this week and the team at Loose Women also made similar changes to their programme and to the actual set so that autistic people and families who were invited could enjoy the experience.

So what did they do to make it all autism friendly? Well.....

• The sound was lowered through microphones
• Lights dimmed 
• Volume of music was lowered
• Ticker scrolls across the screen were made to be less intrusive
• Information was sent to audience members which included a visual timetable to explain what would happened and the layout of the studio.
• The set background was more subdued too

The show included Christine McGuiness, wife of Paddy who have three children with autism. She explained more about how life was like trying to juggle shopping trips and general daily life with their children. Robert White, runner up from Britain's Got Talent explained how it was to be an autistic adult and talked about his diagnosis. Linda Robson went on a shopping trip with mum Fay Hough and her son Bowie which gave people an insight into what is involved with going out, the decisions that have to be made and how we as parents deal with comments made by other members of the public who don't always necessarily understand about autism. 

It seemed to work so well and people who did go along gave positive feedback which is brilliant.. I don't always watch Loose Women to be honest but I enjoyed this and it was nice that autism was featured so much. I cried a little as I can just feel all those emotions that other parents are feeling and can identify with what they go through, gets me every time.

So well done ITV for being the first to do something like this, it helps to get information out there to hopefully help people to understand a little more about autism.

You can catch the programme on ITV Hub, it was aired on Wednesday 10th October and will be available for 7 days from then so catch up if you didn't see it.

Thank you for reading today, join me tomorrow for some more tv chat on Pass the Remote Sunday but for now........

Take care. 

Yes it's back! From today and for the rest of the week, around 10,000 retailers have signed up for Autism Hour. Last year there were 5,000 retailers so this is a massive increase in helping people on the autism spectrum and making the public more aware of autism.

For autistic people the shopping experience can be a very stressful time with for too much information to try and process all at once. This can leave people feeling like they would rather avoid shopping altogether and leading to feelings of isolation. 

So how can retailers help? Well by.....

• turning down the music in the store and also any other overwhelming noise such as tannoy announcements.
• dimming the lights, especially fluorescent lighting which can be too much for an autistic person.
• sharing information about autism with employees to help provide a positive experience for their customers.
• share information about autism to customers too, helping everyone to have that greater understanding.

Some retailers are providing an Autism Hour for a lot longer than one week but by highlighting Autism Hour within this week, well it may highlight other retailers to take part on a regular basis. After all this helps the shops by encouraging more customers to shop and most of all helps people on the autistic spectrum and their families.

So you can support Autism Hour by going along to your local shops and if you know of anywhere that isn't taking part maybe you could encourage them to. There are resources on the National Autistic Society website at
www.autism.org.uk
and you can also go on there and search for local shops in your area who are taking part in Autism Hour this week.

Can I just say a big thank you to all the organisations taking part, you are really helping in a big way!!

Thank you for reading today, pop back tomorrow for some tv chat on Pass the Remote Sunday but for now.......

Take care.