So s eeing as  World Autism Acceptance (2026)  week starts today I thought I'd rehash (sorry repost) a quick introduction type thing I've put together for occasions just like this. So if you make it thru' this and return on a regular basis expect rambles, rants and vaguely amusing tales of an Autistic nature that may contain cult movie mentions and pictures of dodgy haircuts mixed in with me mostly shouting angrily about Autistic provision (or lack of), moving house or me getting excited about work projects. You have been warned.....     But not mine obviously.   And what better way to start than with some quite interesting facts taken from (partly) an interview I did for an academic paper on Autistic parenting and bits of the interview process I went thru in regard to the Chris Packham fronted BBC project Inside Our Autistic Minds that was broadcast a couple of years back. Doesn't time fly? Bizarrely I was way too excitable and chatt...

 Well hitting the end of what's turned out to be a fairly interesting Autism Acceptance Month (I'm being kind) and realized that I've not felt this burned-out (both physically and mentally) for years.     Then it hit me that I'm actually just coming to terms with the fact that nothing has change in regards to the ongoing issues we're dealing with (from housing repairs to Social Work woes and a complete lack of any support - you can read about it here ) alongside a few new ones thrown in (up?) for good measure. Yes, we're still having to escort the kids to and from college (and in Cassidy's case stay with him all day) but now with the added stress of the girls college completely fucking up Embeth's application for next year and none of the staff involved appearing to actually either turn up at work or be able to answer emails. And they say we have a communication problem. It's just another thing in the whole 'death by a thousand cuts' situatio...

  I see that GB News' Deputy Political Editor, Presenter and (I quote) "I do real news" man Tom Harwood is back to targeting Autistic folk again , yup it's our fault the bins aren't getting collected. What is it he's got against Autistics?  Did one of us refuse to fuck him at some point? Seriously someone needs to stage an intervention.   Or at least give him a bloody good slap.   Oh and Happy Autism Acceptance Month (still) everyone!    

 For anyone who said that RFK Jr's utterly mental views on Autism wouldn't happen here I give you Nigel Farage....     More here - and can I just add that  a fucking slap is too good for these people.

 What a fantastic way to end Autism Acceptance Month - (brain) worm addled, vaccine hating madman Robert F Kennedy Jr. makes a stand against Autism whilst referring to it as a virulent disease before hiring David Geier (who was fined by Maryland regulators for practicing medicine without a license) to conduct an analysis on the links between autism and vaccines.   Geier, if you recall, was the guy who spent years illegally treating children with hormone blockers, claiming it would “detox” their autism.   As a plus point his press conference was so awful that it managed to persuade  ASAN and Autism Speaks to release a joint statement which is the Autistic equivalent of Doctor Who and Davros getting drunk at karaoke before having a furtive snog in the taxi home.   Luckily all the virtue signalling social justice friends we all know (and secretly loathe) on social media jumped to condemn Kennedy's speech and stand in solidarity with us and our American brethren ...

  Me, 3 days into Autism Acceptance Week.    

    So as this years Autism Acceptance Month draws to an end I'd like to list all the organizations, businesses, local authority and Scottish Parliament types who've supported us this month in Glasgow and beyond:                                                                                                                               Cheers (he types sarcastically).

Seeing as it's the last day of Autism Awareness Month I'd like to take this opportunity to remind folk that we're not just for April. Cheers.    

Just a quick (ranty) update - sorry still getting back into the swing of proper socializing/interactions and had totally forgotten how bloody frustrating it is, especially when dealing with allegedly 'helpful' organisations. So strap yourself in as we journey into the wacky world of (supported) higher education.... Right on! A picture to tie in with the title as some folk are terrified of huge bodies of text.     So the twin engines of destruction are leaving school this year and have been planning to attend college to do the 'supported living' course. Now this involved (last year) them choosing a course they fancied and attending college one afternoon/morning a week - with them getting a taxi by themselves and the like - to get an idea of what to expect. Which has gone pretty well (excluding the fact that of their 3 course choices none were available as they'd cancelled them without saying because - reasons). But not to worry as it's more about getting them out...

As an - interesting - aside, just realised that it's 4 years since I started this blog, originally to chart the rise of Autistic Friendly venues in Glasgow seeing as Glasgow City Council seemed really keen on supporting our community.   Well 4 years on and nothing, not even a wee Autistic flag for Autism Acceptance Month ....obviously ours isn't colourful enough. I'm sure the original plan was to be Europe's most Autism-friendly city by 2024...bloody hell we fell out of fashion pretty quick didn't we?

 Got asked to contribute to the Glasgow Open Museum Instagram feed for Autism Awareness Day which was nice!    Thanks again!

A public service announcement or two.....ongoing lockdown may mean this will last at least a week but then again I might get bored. Sorry.

Spent yesterday afternoon with twin thing 1 at the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre 's Autism friendly Romans workshop yesterday and what an utterly fantastic day it was! A pleasant environment, wonderfully helpful and approachable staff plus a brilliant and interesting array of activities - just enough to keep everyone entertained but not too many as to be overwhelming - made this workshop the perfect way to end the holidays. Completely hands on and totally accessible to all, the event covered all the bases from arts and craft-based shield designing to working Roman trebuchets via swords and armour (that you could try out) that culminated in a trip to the museum stores to admire (up close) ancient brooches and statues as well as an actual floor tile from Pompeii.  "On my signal, unleash hell!....and Kinder chocolate....lots of it!"  With the structured part of the day running at just under 90 mins, there was plenty of time afterwards to revisit ...

Apologies for the late review (not in a Tom Paulin way obviously) but it's the Easter holidays and we've been busy stopping the podlings destroying the house. Confession time - When events about Autism that involves chat are usually announced my default setting mostly resets to 'righteous Autistic anger' as there have been so many times that whatever is said and done always appears to be not only from an NT carer/parent professional point of view but also set in stone. Refer to yourself as an Autistic person? Nah we use person with Autism says the NT speaker. Explaining a meltdown? That's not how Autism works says the NT teacher (you know who you are). So when the 'A conversation with fathers about autism' event was first announced I was at once intrigued, interested and a wee bit worried. I honestly shouldn't have been because as far as evenings like this go it managed to hit the perfect balance between honesty and informative witho...

My fave Glasgow venue the GFT are hosting 'A conversation with fathers about autism' next week with broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove and communications specialist John Hatfield next week. According to the info I've received - ‘A conversation with fathers about autism’ will focus on the personal experiences of these two fathers who are at very different stages in their autism journey. The aim is to encourage more fathers to be open about their own situations and experiences.' Should be a good night! I'll be there in my capacity as an autistic parent and general question asker/advice (unsolicited or not) giver so expect a full review sometime soon. More info can be found here .

Just a quickie to say that the lovely Glasgow Museums Resource Centre are hosting an autism-friendly family workshop exploring the life and times of the Romans on Sunday 14th April. This autism-friendly family workshop promises to be a fun afternoon in a relaxed, calm, spacious environment. Any excuse. To book in advance or get more info telephone 0141 276 9300 or email gmrcbookings@glasgowlife.org.uk

Regular readers may have noted that there are quite a few posts regarding the ongoing taxi/escort saga with our youngest. As ever our school has been fantastic but the whole situation has shown up some fundamental flaws in education policy.  I was lucky enough to gatecrash a meeting that one of the education heads was speaking at last week but was unable to get any answers - or be listened to - due to the questions being 'too personal' and not just vague policy/backslapping chat. Never mind, there was probably a charity photo op' to be had elsewhere. Anyway, for anyone new (or anyone too lazy too read the posts - here's a quick rundown of the saga so far.* Enjoy.   "Ello Guvna!" Assessment meeting with parents, teacher from new school, class teacher, deputy head of old school - Unanimously decided an escort not needed. 1 week before end of term 'someone' not involved in the assessment puts in request for escort. After informin...