One on one time

This weekend our ‘neurotypical’ son has gone camping with my husband for some quality time away from the stresses of having 2 siblings with ASD. It will give him the chance to do things for him without having to worry about if his brother and sister are going to have a meltdown or cope with being out and about due to the effects of the sensory environment around them.  He is a caring and sensitive boy who always tries to cater for his siblings needs but he's entitled to have the opportunity where he can just do what he wants as well.

I am at home with our other two children and they are chilling and doing exactly what they want to do. We have been to the park and came home as soon as they had had enough.  Normally I try and reach a compromise between the 3 siblings, so as not to upset our ‘neurotypical’ son who generally wants to be out longer than them.  It may seem only a little thing but it can be the make or break of a meltdown, which will have knock on effects for the rest of the day.

It would be nice if we could share all these experiences as a family but there is nothing wrong in giving individual children their own quality time. Sometimes families get too het up about doing everything together all the time.  When you have children with additional needs in your family, your time as parents can be consumed by their needs.  However, your typically developing child still needs some alone time with you to feel important and to enjoy special moments with just you.  Don’t feel guilty about it.