April is Autism Awareness month.  As a mother of a neurodivergent son (Autism, dyslexia and sensory processing disorder) I thought I’d share some of our family experiences with you.

When my son was younger, he struggled at nursery and primary school; struggled mixing with large groups of children, lots of noise and transitioning between tasks.

At that time both my husband and I worked in London.  I was an IT professional and worked for a large health charity.  I would get up at 05:30, walk or jog to the station and get the train to London.  As the journey took an hour on a good day, I’d read or work on the train.  When I arrived at work, I’d get showered and dressed, grab a quick bite for breakfast and start my working day.  My husband would start later so he could do the morning routine with our son and drop him off at the childminders.

As my son struggled with school, I started to get regular calls from the school.  When the school number appeared on my phone my first thoughts were:

• I don’t want to answer this
• What’s happened to my son?
• Is he hurt?
• What has my son done?
• Has he hurt someone?
• When’s the next train?
• How long until I get home?
• Will my childminder be able and willing to help until I get home?

At the same time, I could

• Feel my heart racing
• My face flushing and
• Feel myself perspiring
• Feel the disappointment that I was failing as a parent

All this within a couple of rings of the phone.  Then I’d look for somewhere private to take the call - an empty office or meeting room and if none were available, I’d go and sit in the nearest stairwell.

During the conversation I’d be taking deep breaths to stay in control and not end up in tears.  I knew I’d have to go back to the office to arrange to leave early, and have at least an hour before I could collect my son.

I can honestly say that these calls would send my stress levels soaring and test my self-control.  As I lived through this it was very difficult not to take what was happening personally.  It took a long time for me to find a way to deal with this.  I knew that I needed to look after myself and my health to ensure I would be able to continue to support and help my son.

My saving grace was being able to relax in a warm bath at the end of these long and stressful days.  I would also book a massage or reflexology treatment for myself, although I sometimes struggled to find the time.  I find these treatments very relaxing.

These treatments are essential to help support lowering stress and anxiety and improving wellbeing.  By taking the time to look after myself I was better able to cope with the school phoning out of the blue.  I was also better equipped to support and help my son through these times (such as the emotion and stress of having come out of school), as well as helping me manage home life and other daily stresses.

As a qualified holistic therapist and aromatherapist I also used these therapies at home for my family.

I’d be happy to welcome you to my treatment room for a relaxing, renewing, and regenerating treatment or contact me to have a chat about which treatment might be best for you.