Chris Packham’s BBC Series ‘Inside Our Autistic Minds’ Perpetuates Outdated Views on Nonspeaking Autistics

March 4, 2024

Tonight, 4 March 2024, and tomorrow night, BBC Two will be showing Chris Packham’s documentary ‘Inside Our Autistic Minds’, which was first aired at the beginning of 2023. After I watched it last year, I wrote a social media post about some aspects of the series which I found highly problematic. This is what I … More Chris Packham’s BBC Series ‘Inside Our Autistic Minds’ Perpetuates Outdated Views on Nonspeaking Autistics

10+ Special Places for Autumn Days Out in Kent & East Sussex

October 31, 2022

When the days grow shorter and darker, and the weather isn’t always as tempting as it is more often in the summer, it can get trickier to think of good places for days out, I think. Whether it’s for learning or socialising or exercising or fun – or maybe for all those things at once … More 10+ Special Places for Autumn Days Out in Kent & East Sussex

The Ability To Use Words Does Not Equal Communication Skills

September 30, 2022

Last week we visited a garden centre near us, and as we were looking around, Penguin stopped at the owl doorstops pictured in the photo below. He looked across at me to make sure he had my attention, and then he said “ow” (which for a guy who doesn’t talk, is a pretty good approximation … More The Ability To Use Words Does Not Equal Communication Skills

Visiting the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-Le-Ferne (Kent, UK)

May 30, 2022

[Ad/PR event] We were recently invited to the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-Le-Ferne, near Folkestone. It’s a beautifully situated memorial dedicated to the fighter pilots & bomber crews who fought in the Battle of Britain in 1940, and became known as ‘The Few’ after Churchill’s famous speech (the one where he said “Never was so … More Visiting the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-Le-Ferne (Kent, UK)

Autistic With Learning Disability Or Intellectual Disability – What Does It Mean?

April 25, 2022

In this post I will talk about what it means to be autistic with learning disability (a.k.a. general learning disability, intellectual disability, or intellectual impairment). I’m not a medical professional, and I’m not autistic myself – I’m ‘just a mum‘ of an autistic 15 year-old boy. So this post will be based on what I’ve … More Autistic With Learning Disability Or Intellectual Disability – What Does It Mean?