It’s early morning as I type this blog post and I’m up even before the birds, but yet again I can’t sleep.

I want to and need to, but can’t.

Still I’m not as bad this morning as I was a few days ago when I went to Tesco’s at 3.30 a.m. to do some food shopping!

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April is Autism Awareness Month, and 2nd April is not only World Autism Awareness Day but also my son’s birthday.

He has autism.

Jodi is now 23 years old and has just moved into supported living with two other lads of a similar age.  One has Downs Syndrome and the other unspecified learning difficulties.

It’s a move I never thought would be possible, especially as when he was first diagnosed with the condition, the “experts” told me I’d most likely end up putting my son in a home (read “institution”) by the time he was a teenager because I’d never be able to look after him.  Read more... (673 words, 1 image, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)

One year ago on 11th March, 2011, Joel Therien and Chris Reid launched their 7MinuteWorkout program and I became one of its first members.

That gave me the title of “Maverick”.

Now if you look in Thesaurus an alternative word to “maverick” is “rebel”.

Somehow I’ve never thought of myself in those terms, but apparently the desription is “someone who refuses to conform to established standards of conduct”, so I guess by being a Maverick Member of the 7MinuteWorkout, I am a bit of a rebel.

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