Autumn fun

Autumn is a great time to get outside. There are some amazing nature spectacles to see such as the colours of autumn foliage, deer rutting season, plentiful fungi and starling murmurations. From a sensory standpoint: autumn has a lot to offer. Not are there spectacular things to see in autumn but there are new smells and sounds too and plenty of new textures.

This weekend we got out to a local park to play in all of the leaves. This activity is great as it combines the novel texture of leaves with the auditory stimulation of them crunching underfoot and is a lot of fun. It can also stimulate discussion of why leaves fall from the trees, why they change colour or about the seasons.

Pumpkin news
After Halloween we were left with 2 fairly large pumpkins, in an attempt to reduce our waste and use the pumpkins I made pumpkin pie, pumpkin cannelloni and many other pumpkin based food stuffs. I can now officially confirm that the boy does not like pumpkin.


Bonfire night
I hope everyone had a great bonfire night! We watched the fireworks at Caerphilly Castle this year and were blown away! The crowds and loud noise can often present a challenge and Robbie often doesn't like wearing ear defenders in public. My hack is to put a bobble hat on him under a hoodie under a coat - If he could even hear any of the fireworks under those layers i'm impressed :')

 Not to say there were no meltdowns involved... There were definitely some of those from both of us :') the change in routine, being out late, the excitement and the crowds are a lot to cope with but we stuck it out and had a great time.
Bonfire night can be a nightmare for some children on the spectrum especially public displays because of the loud noises and unfamiliar sensory environments, so many parents choose to do something more simple like sparklers in the back garden or watching the fireworks inside from a quiet space - however you chose to spend your bonfire night I hope you had a great time <3