Visual Systems for Visual Thinkers

Visual systems (PECS, visual timetables, etc.) are widely used, and are very helpful for autistic visual thinkers both to understand what’s going on and to express themselves. PECS Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was... Read more

Assessment at the end of KS1 and KS 2 – What do we know?

On 19th October 2016 Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Education, made a statement about primary education. She acknowledged that the new assessments at the end of KS 2 taken this summer raised the bar on what pupils should have... Read more

January 2017 SENDCo Update

There were a number of announcements made during December – as usual, on the countdown to a holiday. Early years funding: changes to funding for 3- and 4-year-olds On the 12th December the DfE published their response to the... Read more

Visual Thinking

One of the characteristics of autism is the remarkable ability of most autistic individuals to excel at visual-spatial skills while performing very poorly at verbal skills. Research has revealed that there are several types of... Read more

A Season of Peace and Joy?

Earlier in the year I wrote a blog article about going on holidays with children with special needs, in particular ASD.  As the season of “Peace and Joy” is upon us I thought I would do something similar about Christmas. I love... Read more

Autism: Do we speak the same language?

Traditionally, language is looked on as one of the key prognostic factors in autism and the level of language and communicative competence achieved is seen as a measure of the outcome. Besides, language development is closely related to... Read more

PACT study and Communicating – it’s much more than talking

If I had a penny for every time a parent or carer said to me I “just want them to talk”, I’d be well off (which I’m not).  Trust me; you only have to look at my car to know I’m just an average girl.  It’s something all... Read more

What do you see?

What do you see? Each month, I reflect on what to write in this blog.  This month I have had lots to think about.  The last few weeks have been personally stressful for me as I have helped one of my children get ready for and adjust to... Read more

The Best way to tackle a Stammer

October 22nd 2016 was International Stuttering Awareness Day. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the millions of people – one per cent of the world's population who have the speech disorder of stuttering, also known as... Read more

Fussy Eaters or Fussy Bodies, Part 2

Understanding causes of children’s food intolerances and idiosyncratic ‘eating behaviours’ is vital if we want to help them. If we start with addressing ‘diagnostic features’ of the condition, neglecting their causes (that can... Read more