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)

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During my last interview , the topic of the name of this blog came up again.  It’s not  really surprising as it has absolutely nothing to do with the menopause in the usual sense of the word.   It’s mostly my thoughts on all sorts of different subjects.

However, just to set the record straight,  it came about because I was introduced to the world of the internet during one of my “menopausal moments”.  You know, those times when you act completely out of character.

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In many respects I’m very lucky and have a lot to be grateful for, but my youngest son has autism, which does make life somewhat difficult sometimes.

Christmas is one of those “sometimes”.

Jodi is now 22 years old, but still loves videos,especially those really old childrens videos he’s grown up and become so familiar with.

When I say videos, I really mean “videos” – those bulky black oblong things that are fast becoming obsolete, and which people are practically giving away at car boot sales and charity shops.

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