A day in the life, 8th Feb 2018

Earlier this week I took Logan to Clarks to measure him up for some new school shoes.  It was an abject disaster and a complaint has been lodged so I'm awaiting their response before I publicly shame them.  Today his school coat has broken too so he's shoe-less and coat-less in what feels like the coldest winter on record, (I'm sure that's very factually incorrect.) Today he had to wear his trainers in to school, he was unhappy; it's not the rules, he might get told off, his stomach hurts etc.

Oh hi anxiety, back so soon?

Bella once again amazed me with a little nugget of her amazing brain and ability. She asked for juice and I indicated to the part filled cup on the table, she picked it up and peered inside handing it back to me. "Bigger." Yes Bella, you tell me! Don't settle for that little drop of juice when you could have a bigger, fuller cup.

I'm considering reapplying for Logan's DLA (disability living allowance) but after the last two rejections I just don't know whether to bother. He gets on so well at school, he fades into the background, doesn't stand out or fall behind and he masks all his anxiety so much so that even the CAT (Communication Autism Team) see no problems. Don't get me wrong for the most part this is all good but it means we have no supporting professionals.

We shall see, Bella's DLA is also up for renewal in the next few months and I'm not sure I have the strength to attack two at a time (not to mention having a baby in between.)

Hope you've all had a good day wherever you are.

Square Peg Family

Alongside being mummy to Bella and Logan I also run Square Peg Foundation in a voluntary capacity. Over the last four years we've seen our clothing line grow from 3 T-shirts being sold at local events to a whole clothing range being sold worldwide from our online shop.

All our clothing slogans are designed be fun conversation starters about disability, not just autism like many think.

Over the last two years we've seen our main goals come to fruition and we've started running community events for disabled children and families. The aim was always for the clothing to fund our charitable work and for a long time it felt like it would never happen.

Last year we launched a Christmas jumper which was super fun and appealed to many of our YouTube obsessed customers. This year we ran a competition for slogan suggestions and we couldn't be more thrilled with the winning design.

#BeMoreRudolph is an idea I truly stand behind and believe we could all do with being a little freer, a little less constrained by the norm. We could do with taking a leaf out of Bella's book and sing Jingle Bells at the tops of our voices in a busy supermarket in June, or be more like Logan and when you don't feel like being yourself for a while then just throw on a superhero mask and be someone else. 

A lot of our kids stand out whether that's because of behaviour, a wheelchair, a physical disability or a whole list of other reasons. But this is why we love them and why they are so special and unique to us.

If you want to buy a Be More Rudolph Christmas sweater then please jump over to our website, if not please share so that we can sell even more and spread awareness and just as importantly make loads of money to use for more fun activities next year!

CLICK HERE

Back to school

 We're back to school this week, is anyone else nervous?  When Bella went back last September after a summer of chronic screentime and lazy mornings the fan was hit with the proverbial sticky stuff.  There were tears, hitting, kicking and school transport buses driving off leaving us on the curb.  This year I have to get her on the bus and then get Logan into school, I feel I can do nothing but cross my fingers. I mention school now and again to try and creep it back into her psyche but it does nothing more than freak her out, so I stop.

Logan on the other hand is super excited, for now. I know him well enough to be on my guard, there are a lot of changes a coming. Have any of you prepped your nonverbal kiddies? 

The Empire Strikes Back (at the disabled)

One of our favourite things to do as  family is go to the cinema. Logan loves the films (and the snacks) and Bella...well she just likes the popcorn.  She struggles with new films, she'll usually watch the first 5 or so minutes and then drifts off back into her iPad and headphones. I take her for a couple of reasons; new experiences are good even for the children for whom new is a bad word, it is nice to do things as a family and although Bella doesn't watch the films Logan loves her being there, I can't always have someone there on tap to watch Bella as we are a single parent household and finally why shouldn't she go? She has Autism not the plague.

Wheelchair vs Pushchair

I've been very wary about wading into the debate that was recently addressed in the Supreme Court regarding who should take priority on public transport: wheelchairs or pushchairs.

"The case was triggered when Mr Paulley, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, attempted to board a bus operated by FirstGroup which had a sign saying: "Please give up this space if needed for a wheelchair user." 

Mr Paulley was left at the stop because a woman with a sleeping baby in a pushchair refused to move out of the designated area when asked by the bus driver. She said the buggy would not fold.
He had argued FirstGroup's "requesting, not requiring" policy was discriminatory."  BBC News website

Now in an ideal world there would be room for all and this wouldn't even be an issue...but it is.

Just keep swimming

Just in case any of you missed the news on my many, many social media outlets...I thought I'd shout a little about it here too. Bella swam on her own! She has been having 1:1 which is actually more like 2:1 for her swimming lessons for months. Water is a hazard for all children but for children like Bella who are unusually fascinated with it, it is a very real danger. Drowning is the biggest cause of death in children with Autism....but enough with the really happy talk *eye roll* 

January 10th 2018

Ok so the title of this blog is a little misleading as it is mainly about 2016 and 2017 (that still doesn't look right when I type it) but bear with me.  On January 10th 2016 Square Peg Foundation took a wild step into the unknown and launched our mobile sensory room.  Until then we had been Square Peg Clothing (which still exists don't worry) selling T-shirts and Hoodies with a need to do good. That is where the sensory room came in.

Controversial or Cute

Controversial or Cute?

The clothing arm of Square Peg Foundation has now been running for well over 3 years and has in the main has been received  very well. Every event we have attended (which in the early days were many) we would watch as people read our design slogans and smile as they "got it."

There have however been people along the way who haven't liked us, they don't like putting labels on they children...they don't like some of our more "controversial" slogans (More Special Than Needy being a particular trigger)