It's been a crazy few weeks...

A new venture, an update, and getting back to writing

As I sat down and started typing this morning, I double-checked the last post I shared with you and realised it was just over a month ago! So let’s start with explaining why.

These last few weeks have been incredibly busy. After years of dreaming, deliberating, and procrastinating, I decided back in October that I was going to start my own clothing company. Not only that, but I was going to launch it by December 1st in time for Christmas.

Which meant I didn’t exactly give myself much time to get up and running. Especially when you add in trying to juggle being dad to Tommy and Jude, caring for my dad, and trying to do other work around all that.

Somehow, with a lot of help from friends and family, I just about made my self-imposed deadline and a couple of days ago SAA Clothing went live.

I’ve benefitted so much from reading, watching and listening to other people’s stories, so I know first-hand how powerful stories can be. They educate, they inspire, and they help us in our darkest moments to give us hope and realise we’re not alone.

For the last 8 years I’ve been sharing my own stories online, which has helped me too. In that time I’ve got to read thousands of comments and messages from my lovely followers, telling me how those stories have impacted their lives. It’s made me want to do more.

Which is why I’ve launched SAA Clothing. I want to combine positive messages with fashion. Style with purpose. And use it to amplify the stories of our communities. Create a sense of pride and belonging, whilst also helping to educate along the way. Pushing for more acceptance and inclusivity in a world that sometimes is anything but.

This last week has been pretty stressful trying to get everything together in time, but I’ve been totally blown away by the positive response and support. This is a long-term project, one that will also be supporting lots of community initiatives next year.

You can take a look at our collections at www.saaclothing.com

Aside from that, what’s been going on?

Tommy managed to go abroad with his mum at the end of October for half term, and absolutely loved it. I was so anxious in the build up. Tommy hadn’t been away for 6 years, and has become much more rigid in his routines and expectations since that time. How much would he understand?

He hasn’t spent more than 2 nights in a row away from me in that time, and only 1 night away from home in general. Plus there was the stress of the airport, possible delays, the flight itself, different food, the list goes on and on.

But he shocked me and his mum, and took it all in his stride. With the help of a visual schedule and a lot of reassurance, he was excited to get on the plane, and soon loving life, spending most of his week in a swimming pool or the sea!

When he got home he settled straight back in and has had a really happy and settled month since they got back. It feels like his world is opening up even more, and maybe, this is something he’ll be able to do more often. Maybe I’ll get a chance to take him away next year. Maybe holidays become something I’m able to do again.

Meanwhile, Jude has been making great strides too. During that October half term, he spent the week with me, so I decided to try going for walks along the river with him.

This was something we used to do a lot, but as his anxiety has increased over the last few years, we’ve been pretty restricted when it comes to being able to go out in public. A loud child or a dog getting too close, and Jude’s world would end. A meltdown would follow, and it would take months before he’d feel comfortable enough to try again.

So I was pretty anxious myself when we went for that first walk back in October, but with a little luck, a lot of scouting ahead and changing direction if I thought someone might get too close, we did it. With Jude having a great time.

We managed a walk every day during the school holidays, and have been every weekend since. As I’m writing this I’ve just got back from being out with him, and despite the cold weather, he had a smile on his face throughout.

Which makes such a difference. Knowing we’re not going to be cooped up in the house all day and be able to get some fresh air. Plus some time away from his screens.

Jude also received an ADHD diagnosis last month, which was a bit of a shock when it was first suggested, and stirred up a whole range of emotions. I’ll go into more detail in another post, but now I’ve taken it in I can see the positives rather than dwell on the fact it’s been missed for so long.

Christmas is around the corner, and I know all too well how challenging that can be for families like ours. It can look and feel very different from what we imagined and can be a struggle trying to get the right balance for the whole family and keep everyone happy.

With regular posts to follow again, I’ll write about Christmas in next week’s post. Sharing some of our experiences and what I’ve learned along the way.

If you’ve got this far, thanks for reading. It’s busy, exciting times for me, and Stories About Autism, but regular content will now resume ❤️