Organising

Hey readers,

My word of the week is:

ORGANISING

because I have bee sorting out and descaling the amount of rubbish in my home. It gets to the point where there is no space so something has to give. I find this type of activity really relaxing, I feel like a weight has been lifted.

I do love a good sort out and donating things to charity shops because then someone else can get something out of it rather than staying with and gathering dust.

Now the next stage is to not go out and buy more books to replace them, haha, the struggle is real!

In other news, we visited the butterfly farm on Saturday and was lovely to see all the different butterflies even though my eldest struggled with the randomness of butterflies fluttering everywhere, that however, is a whole new story in its self.

Hope you have had a good week,

Cheers for reading X

Relax

Hey readers,

My word of the week is:

RELAX

I feel really relaxed this week, I think one of the reasons is because I have been embracing laziness, but in a good way ;)

What I am trying to get at is the fact that sometimes it is hard to relax when you feel like you constantly need to be doing something, otherwise, you feel guilty. 

So, this week I have been trying to forget all about them messy thoughts in my head and just relax. Amazing the difference but, it could also be down to the fact it was a bank holiday, therefore less tired form doing the school run.

 I know strangely it is just one day but, one day less than five in my eyes.

I have enjoyed being outside surrounded by nature and snapping away, it is when I am at my happiest and been loving seeing all the different spring flowers blossoming, particularly the tulip.

Cheers for reading X

Engage

Hey readers,

My word of the week is:

ENGAGE

I haven't done a word of the week linky for a while because I just wanted a break from all the linkies. 

But truth be told I miss linking up my blog to linkies because it pushes me to engage socially, which is always a positive for an autistic person like myself.

Also, I have learnt it is my blog and I can choose whether I want to participate or not, I don't always have to do it every week. I have learnt not so strict and irritable.

I am not going lie it helps to link up with my stats and I love numbers so always a bonus for me.

Also, I struggle as I tend to get so overwhelmed with blogs that joining in with linkups helps me learn about new content, good or bad, it is food for thought.

 It can provide inspiration or give different avenues for blog ideas

.

Sometimes, you just got to try and see what works for you, I never stop learning and that is one major thing I love about being a blogger.

Cheers for reading X

Half term tiredness

Hey readers,

Today I slept for so long, it was what I body so needed, time to rest my brain and body.  I feel like I need to have a break every now again and shut down to help me compensate for all the pain and work that I put it through.

I think during half-term school holiday I am working harder to socialise and be with others for longer periods of time. Don't get me wrong I adore my children but being autistic it is challenging to spend so long with individuals.

I feel us autistic folk need time to hibernate and re-charge our batteries more than neurotypical people. I think one of the reasons is because I am working that harder to apply social skills that may not necessarily come naturally to me.

Then there is the emotional side where I beat myself up over my shortfalls to a ridiculous amount. One of the reasons because you can’t help but compare yourself to other random people, even though you don’t know through social media.

I always view my autism as a battle, something I have to get up and deal with every single day. On top of that, I have to deal with the internal battle of low self-esteem and dealing myself as a parent.

Most of the time I feel like I am blagging this whole parenting thing and I put so much energy into trying to function like everyone else that I burn myself out, hence the breaks and shutdown.

So, that is one of the many struggles I have as an autistic parent, it is never easy but I am thankful for my blog. It is true what they say that writing things down may not cure my situation but it is a place to clear my mind of the many thoughts that are buzzing around in my head.

Cheers for reading X

I, Daniel Blake. (review)

Hey readers,

The other day I watched I, Daniel Blake and thought I would give a review of it, as I personally absolutely loved it and probably be the best movie I will see this year.

First thing is first, make sure you have plenty of tissue as it is very moving.If you want to find out about social issues then this is the film for you. 

OK, it looks at the absurdity around benefit sanctions. If you don't comply to what is asked of you from the benefits office then basically they can reduce your benefit rate. Some of the requirements are ridiculous. 

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) if you are claiming JobSeekers benefit you have to prove that you have actively been looking for work for 35 hours a week. 

Furthermore, you have hard evidence to prove you have done that, in the movie the lady says suggestions such as getting a receipt? Or get a photo of you actually handing in the CV! 

Sometimes ‘the system’ is absurd especially as a high percentage of claimants are poor and needy which makes them vulnerable to being exploited. This is evident when watching this film why I would say this.

If you don't have enough points you don't get qualified for employment support allowance (which is basically the old Income Support) and therefore have to go on Jobseekers Allowance in order to survive. This is exactly what happened to the main character in the film, called Daniel Blake.

He had a heart condition and the doctors explicitly said he cannot work due to his poor health. However, due to the judgements of the so called 'professionals' he did not meet the criteria. It is absurd the treatment met and when Daniel had the strength to fight because you need it to appeal he died without seeing the results.

We can only assume that it was likely down the stress and poor health conditions because he was sanctioned for silly rules. Consequently causing him to sell all his items in his home because he had no other income for heating or food. The stress on top are all definitely had an impact on Daniel’s health.

One good thing about the film is the relationship struck up between Daniel and a women called Katie, they met each other at the jobcentre. She was sanctioned and Daniel was horrified when overhearing the argument between Katie and the employee at the jobcentre.

 The reason Katie got sanctioned was she was late for her sign-on (few minutes) because she came from London a few days and was lost, therefore getting a reduced amount of benefit. This is really hard for Katie as she has two children to feed, get school uniform etc. 

She moved away from London to do better for herself because otherwise, she would still be living in a shelter. The fact of the matter is if you want to live in London you have to have money. Therefore, most poor people will move out for the area simply because they cannot afford such high rates of living.

One issue that comes up in the film is the way that DWP treat people on benefits like animals and are seen as statistics rather than individuals. 

Daniel wrote a piece he wanted to share in the appeal but sadly didn't get the change so Katie read it at his funnel. I feel this pretty much sums up the social injustice around DWP and a brilliant ending to sadly more truthful story over fiction.

 ‘I am not a client, a customer, nor a service user. I am not a shirker, a scrounger, a beggar nor a thief.

I am not a national insurance number, nor a blip on a screen. I paid my dues, never a penny short, and was proud to do so.

I don’t tug the forelock but look my neighbour in the eye. I don’t accept or seek charity.

My name is Daniel Blake, I am a man, not a dog. As such I demand my rights. I demand you treat me with respect.

I, Daniel Blake, am a citizen, nothing more, nothing less. Thank you.’

Cheers for reading X

PTA (Parents to Avoid).

Hey readers,

When my son started school I came across the PTA (a parenting teaching association) not to be confused my parents to avoid the acronym

though very tempting!

Basically, what it means is that willing parents join this group to talk and discuss issues regarding school. They involve teachers and some parents which allows them to have a fairer and less biased view to voice opinions etc.

I have found that there is a lot of favouritism involved with parents of the PTA. The children get more mentions in assembly,  the winners of the raffle tend to be mainly the PTA parents or staff and generally it just feels like a cliché where they have the upper hand.

I kind of get irritated by the fact that they sell ice lollies or biscuits after school. I object to this because I feel that it is forced pressure for the parents to buy things, especially when you can't get out the gate without your child clocking the stand. 

Then you have to deal with the constant pestering from your child to buy something. I also find the message of healthy eating that the school try to promote external services a bit pointless when they sell junk food after school.  

It does seem pointless trying to encourage healthy eating when you can't consist with the stuff you do within school.

I have been so skint before that I just didn't have the cash to spare and the guilt/embarrassment of saying out loud to your child you do not have the money is just wrong.

It makes you feel crap as a parent and causing conflict on the way home when no parent can be arsed to deal with that. 

Nothing is more stressful with dealing with an argumentative child when you have to deal with trying to get them home tired in the first place. It just means that the child is grumpier it is double the stress, which is really not needed.

I hate social pressure and appears that PTA feeds of this.  All they seem to do is try and make money in raffles or whatnot. 

I just don't like the idea that money seems to be the main concern. I don't like that fact that it represents parents and gives some parents more control and possibly influences teachers.

I just don't see the point in PTAs. The goal is to get the fullest co-operation from home to school. I don't want to know if it means stressing over money and the waste of time of having to do mind-numbing boring stuff when I could be at home sitting on my fat arse drinking a brew.

 I suppose it is ok if it is your thing but I just hate the constant pressure. I certainly wouldn't trust PTA, they appear to have too much time on their hands and tend to make us other parents feel lower than them.  This is my experience anyway, could be totally different somewhere else.

Cheers for reading X

Star

Hey readers,

My word of the week is:

STAR

Because I got to see my son receive a star of the week during assembly and he was beyond happy.  He was grinning like a Cheshire cat and it was lovely to see, especially after he has been waiting for ages to receive it.  So, now it is upon display and he just loves looking at it and admiring his achievement.

Also, my eldest at the weekend moved up a stage in swimming, which he is super happy about as his special friend moved up there pre-Christmas, therefore getting to be reunited again. 

So, now he can rejoin her and it helps him feel a bit more confident in the group as he knows a familiar face.

In other news, I have been enjoying reading and being able to escape especially as this weather has been grime this week!

Hope you all had a good week.

Cheers for reading X