For a child who is as dependant on adults as Dominic is, helping him reclaim an element of control is never a bad thing. How else is he going to develop a sense of his own self-worth if he is never reminded that, even though he is ever so small, he doesn’t have to just
Over the years I’ve had the privilege of meeting many parents with children who are somewhere on the spectrum. And in that time, I have had a fair few conversations with them where I had agreed that, indeed, Elliot appeared to have many traits in common with their child but that was more down to his rather quirky personality rather than the fact that his brain was wired differently. You would have thought, being relatively more informed than the average human being about a vast array of conditions and syndromes that my brain would have been screaming at me to suspect that perhaps it was more than a coincidence. Apparently my conscious brain was out for a long lunch though.
Ok, so I’ll admit, I generally think that Facebook is a platform for us to all lie to each other and perhaps even to ourselves too. The funny incident with the duct tape and the baby sitter makes for a great update, but admit it, at the time it was just plain embarrassing, and perhaps a little unnerving. I think forcing ourselves to see the funny or ridiculous side of our human failings is a trait to be applauded though, all too often we take ourselves far too seriously, and if it takes a Facebook status to make us come up with another, more positive view of a situation, then it’s no bad thing, even if our sole purpose is merely to try and convince the world that we are funnier, smarter and have a better social life than any of our friends.
I have broken my prolonged silence (more on that soon) to share a very special video in honour of feeding tube awareness week. I would be forever grateful if you could find a minute to share it, as ultimately the more people that watch it, the further the message can travel.
By the time you read this post, I will have packed a suitcase, boarded a fast train to London and relocated the few things that Dominic and I can survive with into a room somewhere in the heart of Great Ormond Street hospital. I have been preparing to separate myself from my family and