It feels like the summer holidays have barely begun, and here we are with a week left until the dreaded (or joyous, depending on who you ask) back to school routine starts again for another school year. 8 weeks have passed in the blink of an eye.

This can be a time of mixed emotions for children. I always remember the last week of the holidays being a big buzz of excitement. The week before school was usually spent getting new uniforms, and choosing new stationary. We have already done all of that gradually over the last few weeks. Now that the final count down is on, I'm wanting to keep things as calm as possible.

The summer holidays haven't been plain sailing for us. Neil has ASD, and struggles with change. He hates school, I mean really hates it, but to attend school every week and then suddenly have that routine taken away is hard for him. For the first few weeks of the summer holidays he was a bit unsettled. He had maybe a week or two where he was happy and contented, and then there was a turning point mid way through the holidays when anxiety about the coming term starts to set in.

This last week in particular his anxiety levels have reached a new high, and it's so hard to watch. I want to give him a big hug and tell him everything will be alright, but I can't because he doesn't much like hugs.

He is very teary at the moment, the smallest thing can set him off and he will cry wildly for hours. He often doesn't even know why he is crying, and will not tell you if something is on his mind. Despite being very vocal and having a wide vocabulary, he really struggles to express how he is feeling. We've had tears because he wants to play, but doesn't want to play. Last week we had tears because he wanted to go out, then when we got ready to go out, he cried because he had changed his mind.



The anxiety is manifesting in other ways too. He is stimming a lot more. A stim, for those that don't know, is a self stimulating behaviour that can help calm a child with ASD, such as rocking or spinning or humming. He always stims, but it becomes more notable during times of stress.

He is really struggling with sleep at the moment too. Neil is never a great sleeper, but in the last week or so he has, on more nights than not, still been awake well past 1am. He keeps asking questions, like 'how many minutes until morning?' I think he has ended up in our bed every night, often deciding around midnight that he is too scare to stay in his room any longer. Again, this will probably continue , and get worse as we move through the first few weeks of school.

I can't help but worry for him. I keep thinking about last year, and how hard it was for him returning to school after the summer break. I can't stress enough how much he dislikes school. He has started to realise that he is different from the other children, saying things like 'they know how to stay in their seat and I don't'. I do worry that he is going to struggle this year, as the classroom assistant that was in the class during first and second year will no longer be there. This year, it's just going to be his teacher with no helping staff, and I think the teacher will struggle to give him the time he needs, but that's a story for a whole different blog post.

It's hard feeling so helpless at times like this, I wish I could take his anxiety away, to make it easier for him, but I just don't know how.

Time will only tell how the first few weeks of school go, hopefully with some careful planning and routine we get get through the transition period without too much upset, fingers crossed.

How are your children feeling about the impending back to school?

This week is is World Autism Awareness Week, leading up to World Autism Awareness Day on Thursday 2nd April.

The focus of the week is to raise awareness about Autism, I guess the clue is in the name! It's all about getting people involved in activities that get people talking about Autism, and hopefully raising some much needed funds in the process.

The National Autistic Society are asking people to get involved and 'stand out for autism'. Their site has been a massive source of information for me over the last couple of years, from the early stages when we were first wondering if our son could be on the spectrum, right through to now. If you are beginning your autism journey it is a great place to start. They have a fantastic Youtube page with some very in depth talks from experts on topics such as behaviours, sleep, toileting and more, and it's well worth a look.

When I first started blogging I wanted to make ASD a big part of it. I found reading other blogs about ASD and special needs quite comforting, to read that other people were going through the same things as our family, and I wanted to be able to do that for others. Unfortunately, I haven't really written about autism nearly as much as I had originally planned but that is something I would like to change. I feel inspired, and have decided I'm going to start writing more regularly about Autism, and the struggles we face, and my son and all of his fantastic strengths. ASD is a big part of our family life, and so should be a big part of my blog too.

Now I would like to share with you some of my previous ASD related posts for those that you may have missed: (click the bold title to view the post)

Autism - Our Journey So Far - I share our early experiences and talk about what lead us to make that first step towards getting a diagnosis.

Anxious - I talk about the anxiety I felt in the few weeks before the big diagnosis appointment.

ASD Assessment & Diagnosis - An honest account of our experience on the day of the assessment, and what it meant for us.

The After Diagnosis Limbo - Unfortunately we didn't feel like we were given much help from the local authorities after receiving a diagnosis and felt like we were in limbo .

Problems With Change - Talking about some of the problems we face when there is a change in Neil's routine.

Time Train Visual Schedule - How we made a visual schedule to help Neil manage his day.

Chewigem Chewable Jewellery - A review of fantastic chewing jewellrey for children who like to chew.

Play Foam & Helping Hands - Having a little look at some products from Learning Resources to help children develop fine motor skills.

Hopefully my posts can be of some help to someone out there! If you would like to see more posts like that please get in touch, or let me know if there is anything you would like me to cover in one of my posts. To stay updated on all of my ASD related posts or if you just want to connect with me you can do so via my twitter or facebook.

Hopefully you have been inspired to get involved in this years Autism Awareness Week! If you would like to find out more or donate to the National Autistic Society you can do so here.

 

As the parent of a child with ASD, I'm always on the lookout for fun and interesting ways to engage and help Neil develop his skills. I have spent many a night on the Internet looking at special needs toys, and sensory toys. There is a lot available, but it's disappointing to find that a lot of 'special needs' toys carry quite a high price tag.

A little while ago I was introduced to Learning Resources and was amazed by the huge range of educational toys on offer. I was very pleased to find they had a dedicated section devoted to special needs toys, and the big winner for me was the price... Everything was so well priced! I have loved the place ever since, and I was very pleased when they asked if we would like to try a couple of their products.


We received the Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set and an 8 pack of Play Foam, and we couldn't wait to give them a go.


The Helping Hands set contains four tools for various activities, to grab, squeeze, scoop and drop. The tools are all brightly coloured and immediately appealing. The tool set is designed to help children develop their fine motor skills, which is an area we are keen to work on with Neil.

To test out the Helping Hands, we gathered together Neil's collection of miniature Minecraft figures which were just the right size for grabbing and scooping with the various tools. We started with an empty bowl and the Squeezy Tweezers and I gave Neil the task of collecting up each of the figures and dropping them in to the bowl. This tool is great for developing hand eye coordination. Neil struggled at first because to open the tweezers you have to squeeze the handle, so it took him a while to coordinate his movements, but once he got the hang of it he was flying!


I then filled the bowl with water and asked Neil to retrieve the figures using the Handy Scooper. This is my favourite tool, as it is very similar in shape to scissors, and is perfect for developing the movements needed to control scissors properly, which is something Neil does struggle with a lot. The handle is designed perfectly for little hands, but I could also use them comfortably too. The large scoop has lots of little holes around it making it ideal for water play. Neil had a lot of fun lifting his characters from the water then watching the excess water drain away,


This was Neil's favourite activity and he could have played with the water and the Scoopers for hours. They are great for water play, and would be a perfect addition to bath time fun. I think this tool would be great for playing with flour or fine sugar too, but we haven't tried this as Neil doesn't like to get messy. Another great water play tool is the Twisty Dropper. The dropper helps strengthen the muscles in your child's hand because there is a lot of squeezing required to suck the water up in to the tube and squirt it back out again, and Neil enjoyed playing with this too.


The last piece in the kit was the Gator Grabber which looks like a little pair of tweezers, and is designed to help develop the pincer grip which is essential when learning how to hold a pencil properly, which is something a lot of ASD children can really struggle with. The grabber is very similar to one that we use in Occupational Therapy, and is great for picking up and sorting small objects.

The Second item we received was the Play Foam. We had never tried anything like play foam before, and were completely intrigued by it. It claims to be mess free and non drying and I was very interested to put the claims to the test.


Upon first inspection, the Play Foam looks like lots of tiny polystyrene balls stuck together. The pack we received contained four very vivid colours, including found original and four sparkle. The texture of the foam is bizarre. It feels sticky, but isn't sticky.... I know that doesn't really make sense but that is the way it is. The tiny little balls stick to themselves, but not to you. As soon as you put it in your hands you just want to squeeze it, and the squeezing is great for strengthening the hand and finger muscles.


It was out of the box for about one minute before Neil had mushed the 8 colours together, which is fine because it looks just as pretty.


It is so mouldable, and will hold its shape until it is squashed back down. Neil had a lot of fun moulding shapes and words. The great thing is that is doesn't dry out, unlike other popular mouldable products, so there is no need to worry about squashing it up and putting it away too soon. This means that the product can be played with for hours! All of the shaping and moulding takes place with the hands and fingers, and again is a great way of strengthening those muscles and developing fine motor skills.

Its quite common for children with ASD and Sensory Processing Disorder to chew things and put them in their mouths but I just want to let you know if your child does like to taste or chew not to be put off by this as it is non toxic and doesn't expand in the stomach and so if the odd piece is swallowed there is no risk to your childs health with this.  I feel completely fine with Neil using the product and he is compelled to taste and chew everything around him.

We were very impressed with both of the products we were sent. What I love about the Helping Hands Tool Set and the Play Foam is that they are so good for helping develop fine motor skills, but they are so much fun at the same time. I don't think Neil realised how much work he was doing with his hands because he was too busy enjoying himself. Both of the products would be great for children with ASD, ADHD, Sensory Processing Issues, Dyspraxia and many others. I feel the products would also be great for preschoolers who are still developing their motor skills.

The 8 pack of Play Foam is currently selling at £9.00, with the Helping Hands set selling at £7.14 which I think is a bargain! These two items, alongside many more great resources for children of all abilities are available from the Learning Resources Site, which you can find here.

If you would like to see the play foam in action you can do so in our youtube review:


To celebrate World Autism Day on the 2nd of April, Learning Resources UK are kindly giving one of my lovely readers the chance to win their own pack of Play Foam. To be in with a chance, please enter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway