Include 'In' Autism

12/04/2026

What are Tics?

Something small, something you can almost ignore, until you can’t.

A movement, A sound. Something that repeats. At first you wonder if it’s a habit, a phase, something they’ll grow out of. But over time, it becomes clear this isn’t something they’re choosing. This is something their body is doing on its own.

Tics are sudden, involuntary movements or sounds. They can look like blinking, head jerking, shoulder movements, or sound like throat clearing, noises, words. They can come and go, change over time, get stronger with stress, anxiety, excitement, or tiredness. And the hardest part is, they can’t just stop.

You watch them try. You see the tension build in their body,like something rising that needs to come out, and then it does. Again and again. Even when they don’t want it to. Even when they’re exhausted.

They feel it. The discomfort before it happens. The release after. The soreness from repeating the same movement over and over. The headaches. The tiredness. The feeling of their own body not quite listening to them.

They notice the looks. The questions. The difference. And as a parent, you feel it too. Because it’s not just worry. It’s grief. A quiet, silent kind of grief. Not for who they are , because they are everything ,but for how hard the world might be for them. For the moments you can’t protect them from. For the frustration they carry. For the times they feel embarrassed, overwhelmed, or misunderstood.

You grieve the ease you hoped they’d have. The simplicity you imagined for them. And you carry that quietly, while still showing up, still supporting, still holding everything together.

There’s a helplessness in it. Watching your child struggle in their own body, seeing them tired, sore, frustrated,and not being able to take it away. You would carry it for them if you could.

And it takes its toll. The constant worry. The mental load. The feeling of always needing to be alert, to be ready, to be there. It sits with you in a way that’s hard to switch off. But you keep going. You learn. You adapt. You advocate. You stay beside them through all of it.

Because behind all of this is a child doing their best in a body that won’t always cooperate… and a parent doing everything they can, even when it hurts, even when it feels heavy, even when it’s a kind of grief that no one else really sees.

12/04/2026

Let’s talk about PICA

You notice it before you have a name for it.

The constant “what’s in your mouth?”
The things that shouldn’t be there, but are.
Paper. Foam. Hair. Dirt. Paint. Bits of things you don’t even recognise until it’s too late.

And suddenly you’re on edge all the time.

You’re scanning floors.
Checking corners.
Watching hands.
Watching mouths.
Watching everything.

Because this isn’t harmless. You know what could happen.

Choking.
Blockages.
Infections.
Poisoning from things like paint or chemicals.
Trips to A&E.
That constant fear of “what if this time it’s serious?”

So you don’t switch off.

Even when you try to sit down, your eyes are still searching. Even when they’re playing, you’re still watching. Even when they’re asleep, your mind is still going.

And people don’t always understand that weight. They say “just take it off them” or “just watch them more”
as if you aren’t already carrying that responsibility every second of the day. But this isn’t about being naughty. It isn’t about behaviour in the way people think.

There’s something in it for them.

The texture.
The sensory need.
The way it regulates something inside them that feels overwhelming.

And while they’re meeting that need…
you’re holding the risk, constantly.

It’s exhausting in a way that’s hard to explain. Because it’s not just physical tiredness.

It’s mental.
It’s the hypervigilance.
The never-ending “what if.”
The pressure of knowing it only takes one second, one missed moment.

It’s the guilt if something does happen.
The fear that you didn’t catch it in time.
The feeling that you have to be everywhere at once.

You question yourself.
You doubt yourself.
You carry more than people realise.

And still, you show up.

Still you watch.
Still you adapt the environment.
Still you learn every pattern, every trigger, every tiny sign.

Even when it feels relentless.
even when your mind won’t rest.
even when the anxiety sits quietly in your chest all day long.

You are not failing. You are protecting someone in a way that requires constant awareness, constant care, constant strength.

Your child isn’t “just eating things they shouldn’t. They’re communicating a need, and you’re the one holding both sides of that ,understanding them…and keeping them safe.

And that is heavier than most people will ever know.

06/04/2026

05/04/2026

Winning number for Easter egg draw. Well done Gemma and Rhiann 💛

03/04/2026

Something very exciting is bubbling behind the scenes…

We’ve been working quietly, passionately, and with purpose ,and we will share it with you once it’s all finalised 💛.

This next step means so much to us, and we truly can’t wait to bring you along for the journey and we’re so excited 💛

Watch this space… something special is coming. Something never seen before 💛