My New Blog: Sounding Out Dyslexia

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

As you’ll have noticed, my original blog Autism and Oughtisms has been inactive for a couple of years. A key reason for this was receiving a dyslexia diagnosis for my youngest son (who also has autism) and the need to reorient all my efforts into understanding what this meant and what he needed from me. My journey and my son’s journey has been crazy-hard and isn’t over yet, but I’ve learned enough at this point that I feel ready to start blogging about it the same way I did about autism. It didn’t make sense to write under the same blog title though, so I’ve set up a new blog: Sounding Out Dyslexia. I still write under my original blogger name of Autism and Oughtisms (mostly because I haven’t figured out yet how to change that at this stage, I’ll figure it out eventually though!). Even though it will be mostly about dyslexia, I’ll continue to write on themes such as disability rights and supports in New Zealand, and as my son is autistic the relevance of that will pop up now and again too of course. The site is still very new and I’m still tweaking it a bit, but I have a few preliminary posts up if you want to have a look.

Link to the new blog: https://soundingoutdyslexia.wordpress.com/

Link to the first post of the new blog, “A is Still for Autism”: https://soundingoutdyslexia.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/a-is-still-for-autism/

There is no associated Facebook or Twitter or other social media with it yet, I may continue to use the old handles but again I’m still nutting out the details. I’ll update this post if/when that changes.

Despite dealing with my son’s dyslexia and reading about and researching it and being part of dyslexia communities for a couple of years now, I know I still have a lot to learn. My blog is part of that ongoing journey, feel free to join me 🙂

So long, and thanks for all the clicks :)

This is my last blog post. There are a number of reasons I’m moving on, that have been impacting me for a while and have now become too overwhelming to continue this blog (nothing too scary – I’m OK!). But … Continue reading →

Five (or Six) Diagnoses, Two Woo-tastic Communities, and an Eight Year Old Under a Pohutukawa Tree

This gallery contains 1 photo.

My eight year old is collecting diagnoses like it’s going out of fashion. We’re up to five (with a sixth in contention). He has confirmed diagnoses of autism, dyspraxia, dyslexia, dysgraphia, anxiety, and potentially has ADHD. All these long, scary … Continue reading →

Drowning in Need: Autism and Swimming in New Zealand

This gallery contains 2 photos.

The ability to swim is particularly vital for autistic children, as they are 160 times more likely to drown than other children are. That shocking statistic is a result of many factors, including that about 50% of autistic children wander, … Continue reading →

“Choose Your Battles” (and dealing with those who didn’t get their copy of the battle plan)

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Autism never affects a singular aspect of a person, and from a parenting perspective the myriad of ways in which autism impacts on your child is overwhelming. When you first get your child’s diagnosis, it is followed by a realisation … Continue reading →

Understanding the cuts to IDEA autism services * UPDATED *

This gallery contains 1 photo.

This post has been updated, due to important new information being revealed during question time in parliament, on April 6th. There has been a flurry of concerning stories of late, about changes to the autism services, supports, and programmes provided … Continue reading →

Revelations

This gallery contains 1 photo.

When I was dragged into the world of disability by my eldest son, I was forced to confront a lot of new and uncomfortable truths – truths about people, about society, and about myself. I couldn’t stay who I was … Continue reading →

What to look for when choosing a school for a child with special needs, in NZ

This gallery contains 1 photo.

One of the most challenging, and most important, decisions we make as parents of young children with special needs, is where to send them to school. I have two children with various special needs. One of my children has been … Continue reading →

We Stand Together, or We Fall Apart

This gallery contains 1 photo.

There is a growing awareness in New Zealand that our education system is not delivering on basic obligations to a significant and vulnerable group of children. This failure of the system affects all of the country’s children: When a child … Continue reading →

Seclusion versus Time Out, and Alternatives

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Why is it so wrong for schools to use seclusion, how is it any different from time out, and is time out a good idea anyway – what are the alternatives? These are important questions, that have come to the … Continue reading →