It’s a Saturday and the usual decisions about what to do on the weekend or any day really when Tommy is not in school.

We have been through various phases on what he will tolerate when out and about. Initially we had to avoid anywhere with other people or at least not many others being around. This was a challenge as whenever there is no school there are always other families in the places that we would like to go. During these years we ended up finding favourite spots that were just quiet spaces to run around. At the time we were living on a modern marina development with a postage stamp for a back yard so very little opportunity to just let him go out and run in safety. There was an open park close however with no sense of danger he would, given the chance, just run away.  So quiet places with secure boundaries and few people were our requirements. On a sunny day, not a chance!

As he has grown older he has become more tolerant of others and will go to a ‘soft play’ place or similar with other children but does still get very anxious at loud noise and busy-ness so we choose our times wisely.  He wears ear defenders (great OT advice) which really help so noise is dulled for him.

A few years ago we found a trampolining club for disabilities in Cardiff called ‘Rebounders’ and we have been going there on a Saturday morning for a few years now. He loves his bouncing and has grown to tolerate the others that attend his class too. The question has always then been on a Saturday what to do in the afternoon.

Up until recently we used to go out and have lunch. Usually at a local cafe which had his favourite tuna sandwiches or a supermarket cafe for sausages. That has all had to stop as he is now on a strict gluten and casein free diet which has helped enormously with his behaviour.  There really isn’t enough places that cater for this, so we end up back at home. Luckily though at tea time we go to our local Beefeater restaurant in Wenvoe, near Cardiff,  that we’ve been going to for a year or more now. They reserve our same table at the window every time, and as soon as we get there Tommy runs past any queue to his place. Within minutes they know his starter and it’s on the table for him. Even with the change to our dietary requirements they have been more than helpful and accommodating.

Last year we moved home. Actually now I think about it, it was on this very day last year we had the keys to our new place. Our main requirement was a big garden so that Tommy could have the space to play. So now when the weather is a little warmer than freezing, Saturdays are a lot less fretful. He loves our garden now which has his own trampoline, swing, slide and more importantly lots of trees and bushes to pull off leaves and ‘flap’ with. As soon as we moved in we made the boundaries secure so at least we can relax when he is out playing.

Tommy is definitely an ‘outdoors’ child. However he was born to parents who are less than ‘outdoorsy’ so I guess that’s going to have to change if we are to make the most of his new  found interests in horse riding and surfing.

You never know, you might find me get on a horse yet! Well more change of that than getting me on a surfboard!

With love and gratitude

Nadine.