Tommy was born in August 2020 right in the middle of the pandemic. We had just come out of lockdown one and thinking life would be going back to normal.

The first few weeks were just that. Tommy was being a newborn and not sleeping but seems relatively content. Family had come to see him and it all felt the same as it did with my other two. By Christmas we were back in lockdown and I noticed Tommy had very strange movement. He was constantly ridged. After caring for so many babies working in a nursery setting I have actually never seen a baby with this type of movement. At this point I also just thought it was odd and didn't think too much on it. 

When Tommy was 6 months I started to notice his development wasn't the same. He didn't respond to his name. At 5 months he turned to his name ONCE. He wouldnt do that again for over 2 more years. He wasn't reacting to emotion. Something people don't realise is you can walk past a family with a baby in a pram. That 6 month old baby will smile back when you smile or they will recoil and become shy. Tommy had zero reaction to anyone at any time. At almost 4 this is still the same. He still will not mimic and very rarely will give an emotional response.

By 9 months we were becoming concerned that Tommy had zero acknowledgment for anyone entering a room. And by 12 months he wasn't pointing, clapping or waving. He had began hand leading and he never stopped moving. 

Tommy was placed on the waiting list for assessment at 17 months. I knew there were huge waiting lists and I wasn't expecting to recieve any help or guidance for at least a year. And I was right. 

Tommy was seen for his first assessment 10 months later and that would be the first time we saw anyone. But remember everyone "Early intervention is key". I've lost count of how often I've muttered "how early do you want it because apparently 18 months old isn't on the list". Tommy was then diagnosed 14 months later. In that time we have had his Ed Psych and SLT for his EHCP and his dietians appointments. That is how much early intervention and just support we have been given in almost 3 years. 

I have absolutely been backed into a corner of paying for course after course with SLTs and OTs and online courses with training companies. But in all this lack of support I truly thank my lucky stars everyday for those SLTs and OTs who taught me all I know with their parent courses and that we live in a world I do have access to the information in an internet driven society. Without this I would have been so left in the dark. 

That is why I build this website and my ebooks. So I can get more of this information out and build a team of SLTs and OTs who will also be sharing their info on here (coming soon)