There's a Panda in my Bellybutton

The aim of our blog from the start has always been to offer an insight into living with Autism and Asperger's and to help just one person on their own journey by offering support, guidance and advice. I have been, not quite bombarded, but certainly encouraged strongly to place adverts within my blog to make money from people reading our story and it got me thinking. Should we cash in on Autism? I will be the first to admit that money is tight. It always is and I am sure every single person reading my blog will relate, however setting up our blog was never intended as a way to make some extra cash, however much I sometimes may be tempted.  We want to share our story and pay it forward. I am a big believer in karma. However, I am certainly not against money-making ideas, especially those that fundraise for charities. The National Autistic Society’s excellent marketing idea of jumping on the Loom Bandwagon was genius and I have done my fair share of fundraising events to support the c...

Autism So now we have established that Ryan is Autistic and has a particular type known as Asperger's.  Well what are Autism and Asperger's and how do they differ? If you have found this blog you may well already know the answers to these questions and I am certainly not trying to teach you to suck any proverbial eggs.  However, if you are at the start of your journey then I hope this post and blog are of some use to you and will be to help guide you on your way. I am not an expert or recognised Autism professional, but I have sought education and training, and now have several qualifications in addition to my own experience as a parent to better support Ryan. I have become a qualified teaching assistant in 2008 and since 2012 have worked as a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant with children in a speech and language communication unit; several of which are also on the spectrum so I do feel I am well placed to offer support. The following information is taken...