My Wonderland

If You’re Like Me, the Family Organiser... You probably find yourself thinking, “I should write all this down in case something happens to me…” Well, this is my shareable list, the non-therapy stuff I wish I’d had in one place. The real-world, practical gems that make life a little easier when you’re juggling everything. Consider this a gift to all the other parents holding it together behind the scenes.  I figured it was time to write all this down. Because when you’re parenting a child with a disability, just knowing stuff becomes its own kind of survival skill. And yet, most of the best info isn’t in any handbook, it’s just in the abyss and you have to hope you come by it. So here it is. A working list of the helpful, practical, sometimes obscure things I’ve picked up along the way. Some of them might seem small, but trust me: in a world that’s not built for our kids, the small wins matter. HOLIDAYS! And suprisingly cheap or even free! Ronald McDonald Houses These aren’t just ...

Dante is my oldest son, he's turning 13! And while everyone else might celebrate it as the beginning of the teen years, I’m here sitting with the quiet truth that his childhood is over, not in a dramatic way, but in a way that hurts if you look too closely. Because Dante’s childhood wasn’t just bikes and birthday parties. It was therapy clinics and hospital corridors. It was me wrapping him in cotton wool cause I was terrified something bad might happen to him. It was watching his brother’s legs get braced in AFOs while his own questions went unanswered. It was learning to entertain himself in the corner of a room while the spotlight was on someone else. It was missing out. Quietly. Repeatedly. Without complaint. He’s the boy who gave up Saturday sports so we could all go to inclusive games instead. The boy who learned to cheer for someone else’s milestones while tucking away his own. The boy who carried the emotional weight of our family’s reality before he had the words to compre...