phippsamy8Jul 23, 20212 min readThe importance of happiness: let's make our children's well-being a priority.Something that I have been thinking about a lot lately is happiness. There is so much focus from schools and SEN teams on meeting...
phippsamy8Jun 30, 20213 min read"I put on my listening face...but in my head I'm screaming": Autistic masking in schools.When my son was still in school, we were constantly told "he's fine once he's here in class, we don't see any problem". The implication...
phippsamy8Jun 2, 20212 min read"I'm just not a boo-hoo person": differing reactions to bereavement.We had a bereavement in our family last week. My father-in-law sadly died after a prolonged period of illness in hosiptal. My children...
phippsamy8Apr 29, 20211 min readWhat is autism? A video for siblingsI have been thinking a lot about siblings lately. My daughter is such a little trooper - she is so positive and strong, and loves her...
phippsamy8Mar 8, 20213 min readRemember the kids who aren't going back to school this week.There has been a lot of talk in the last few months about the lost generation of children who have been unable to access school due to...
phippsamy8Feb 1, 20213 min readWarhammer & autism: building resilience, friendships, & fine motor skills It's Children's Mental Health week and I thought this might be a good opportunity to talk about something that really helps my son's...
phippsamy8Jan 23, 20213 min readSibling stress and lockdown With another lockdown meaning that siblings are thrown together full-time again, many families will be feeling the stress. As always,...
phippsamy8Dec 19, 20202 min readTop tips for managing the build up to Christmas for autistic kids: advice from peer-advocate Lola.Thank you so much to Lola for sharing these words of wisdom on how to support autistic kids with their Christmas anxiety (especially...
phippsamy8Dec 1, 20204 min read"But surely you don't want to label your child?": Diagnosis, "labelling" and misconceptions.It has been 2 years since my son received his diagnosis of autism (with a demand avoidant profile). Although I'm not usually one for...
phippsamy8Nov 5, 20205 min readAutism and employment, a Dad's persective: interview with Simon Macaulay of Sky Autism Support Last week I had the pleasure of chatting to Simon Macaulay, dad to Jamie (in his 20s) who is autistic. Simon has been hugely proactive,...
phippsamy8Oct 26, 20203 min readWhen people don't believe you (and then you start to doubt yourself too).One of the things I regularly hear from parents who think their child is autistic, but don't have a diagnosis yet, is that they don't...
phippsamy8Oct 18, 20203 min readAutism and Dogs: Introducing Dobby the Whippet puppyI always thought I was a cat person and would never get a dog - they were too much (too noisy, too smelly, too busy). I should have...
phippsamy8Oct 9, 20204 min readDnD, pets and home learning: an interview with an autistic young person.There's a growing recognition that in order to understand autism neuro-typical people need to hear directly from autistic people and...
phippsamy8Oct 4, 20203 min readThe amazing power of Dungeons and Dragons for autistic kidsI find it hard to believe that 18 months ago I didn't know anything about Dungeons and Dragons (DnD). It is now my son's absolute...
phippsamy8Oct 3, 20203 min readWhen school isn't workingOur family has come a long way in the last two years - from having a child who was so traumatised by school that he was unable to attend,...
