The meaning behind my blog name #SEND30daychallenge
By Jeannette | August 20, 2017
Yes, I’m doing another challenge and one that is even closer to my heart than music.
A challenge for special needs bloggers, there are a lot of us about. Each sharing our experiences and wanting to raise a little bit more awareness and acceptance within – at times, a not very open – Society.
It’s also very timely for me as it’s my operation tomorrow so, I can schedule a few of the prompts in for the next few days. If I don’t mention how my recovery is going, it’s not because there’s no update, it’s merely because the posts have been scheduled.
So, Day 1, the meaning behind my blog name.
When I first started blogging and tweeting, I was “bluecrisps”, anyone remember? Named after D’s favourite snack, cheese and onion Walkers crisps.
I’ll go all “Daily Fail” now and here’s a picture:
I loved D’s little interpretations for items:
Ketchup was “splot”
Quavers were “yellows”
Custard cream biscuits were “gold bars”
We still have a few:
The hair dryer is the “hair driver”
Our conservatory is the “observatory” – but really it’s our junk room
And
Ready salted crisps are still “really salted”, which they are.
I enjoyed being Bluecrisps and my blog was a wordpress hosted one. There then followed a change to self-hosted as AutismMumma, firstly with Overblog (not recommended) and then back with WordPress.
So, why the name change? Well, when I first started blogging it was intermittent and it was a big change for me as I’d kept loads of notebooks where I’d scribbled whilst in teen angst but not really since.
I found that blogging helped me offload when my head felt bunged up with thoughts and I hoped that my experiences and thoughts as an SN parent may help others feel not so alone with their challenges and achievements. Reading other people’s certainly helped me.
I blogged through D’s first few terms at SN school and then through T’s diagnosis of high-functioning autism when he was 10. Truth be known we’d had an inkling for a few years that he was probably also on the spectrum but left it as he was “masking” a lot of emotions and “coping” in primary school.
When it came to the possibility that his traits were starting to become more obvious and that support may be needed in secondary school, we felt a “label” might help him get any necessary support. I’ll have a slightly hollow laugh here because secondary school haven’t taken any notice of his diagnosis at all and he does still mask an awful lot. He gets home, sticks his headphones on and bounces on the balls of his feet.
Blogging has brought me some fantastic opportunities materially but the one big thing it’s given me is a feeling that I’m not alone, that fellow bloggers and SN parents understand.
I’ve been very fortunate to meet a few bloggers in real life and hopefully next year – BAPs and feet permitting – I’ll meet some more.
Quite simply my blog name is me, AutismMumma.
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