Living in a ‘five minute bubble’ – the impact of poor executive functioning.
Human babies are amongst the least developed, in terms of their ability to manage independently, of all mammals. They are born with only the primitive parts of their brain fully functioning, with the majority of brain development taking place throughout childhood (hence the soft spot or fontanelle at the top of a baby’s head which allows its brain to grow significantly during the first year...Learn More
More Things That Teachers Need to Know about Autism
An article published back in August 2018 by the National Autistic Society, titled ‘What teachers need to know about Autism’, was a very timely reminder that 70% of Autistic children will be attending mainstream schools. Hopefully those with, what I would call, more obvious features of Autism, will be going into (or back to) school with a support plan, or at least an awareness of their...Learn More
Autism, anxiety and the impact upon parents
This article is about Autism and anxiety. Research suggests that up to 85% of autistic individuals will suffer from anxiety. An autistic child is twice as likely as a neurotypical (non-autistic) child to experience anxiety. A significant number will suffer from extreme anxiety – to the point that it affects not just their life but their family’s too. Some children are too anxious to attend...Learn More
Missed or delayed Autism and PDA diagnoses
This article is equally applicable to both boys and girls. In the course of many years of clinical experience I have learned that boys can be just as good as girls at ‘masking’ their difficulties (particularly those who have the Pathological Demand Avoidance profile). Way back in the early 2000’s I remember when the National Autism Plan for Children (NAPC) guidelines were developed...Learn More
It’s Not Only Girls Who Can Mask
Following on from the previous article regarding autistic children who mask, this article is going to look specifically at autistic boys who mask. These boys seem to fall into two distinct categories. The first group is those who understand the rules at school and appear to manage the structure of school very well, but who are often struggling socially and academically and who keep ‘below the...Learn More