It’s Okay not to be Okay.

We have had a tough morning. What should have been a slight change to our normal routine, dropping off some used toys and games to the charity shop resulted in my handsome boy been thrown out of sorts.

You see for him it’s a big change and  whilst he is becoming more confident in speaking to people he doesn’t know. Being unexpectedly asked for his name and details so they could send him a lovely wee thank you letter for his donation was enough to overload him in to becoming quite upset and hiding in his room when we got home.

If you don’t understand Sensory Overload and Autism it can be easy to pass this off as a non event and tell him to get on with things; which unfortunately, just further adds to his distress.

So we have had a slow start to today’s learning. Caleb took himself to his room to quietly self regulate and most likely process the conversation and his emotions whilst I have accepted that lessons will be starting later today.

That’s the great thing about Home Ed, although we have work to cover we aren’t restrained to squeezing it all in between the hours of 9-3!

Parenting doesn’t come with a manual and parenting a child with additional needs definitely doesn’t come with a “how to” but I am learning to be patient and confident in knowing we will get there but in his own time.

I’ve always firmly believed that learning should be an enjoyable experience and that it’s impossible to learn when in a heightened state. Any parent that’s tackled homework and been met with a child panicked and unable to process the task for fear of getting it wrong can attest to it being pointless to force learning when a child is overwhelmed. Home Ed is the same;  On mornings like today if that means taking a step back and making sure my son is happy, calm and in a place to want to learn then his mental health will always take precedence.

Having been given that space and time to calm down my handsome boy is now snuggled up enjoying a peppermint tea in his fab new dinosaur mug whilst I get organised for an afternoon of science and circuit boards.

Children are human and if we want them to be healthy, happy and confident individuals then we need to remember they are just as entitled to off days as we are as adults. And just like us a little tlc goes a long way to making them feel valued, respected and helping their world feel better again. Sometimes that tlc comes in the shape of a cuddle from Mum and a peppermint tea in a dinosaur mug!