Ask any parent of a neurodivergent child what it’s life is like and they will tell any versions of the same thing.
It’s hard, confusing, emotional, discouraging, complicated, expensive and disheartening. Everything seems against you. Doctors, diagnosis, assessments, schools, nutrition, sleep, friendships…the list goes on.
It is also, wonderful, with very high highs and amazing milestones. Support from Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Clinical Psychologists and extra special teachers and schools you find along the way. Families with a neurodivergent child, or more, depending on their level or diagnosis (DSM list), depends on how much support that child will need to get an education, live an independent life and find a way to build friendships.
We spent 9 years (so far) journeying with all of the above. My eldest, Cal, was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder at 5 years old, which led us down a rabbit hole of O.T. and sensory integration therapies. He began “big school” and things just started to get worse, as he progressed in grades, his ability to cope and regulate during and after school just got more and more difficult (private school with classes off 22 children maximum). His grade 3 teacher suggesting having him assessed for Autism. We went all in and had him assessed by a clinical psychologist, sure as nuts, he was diagnosed with Autism, level 1 (previously known as Asperger’s). So our journey began in finding a specialist O.T. and a speech therapist and changing our home to accommodate him more. Things improved a little.
By the time he started grade 4 he regressed with his progress so much he was impossible to deal with. Melt downs, sleep issues, aggressive behaviour and an inability to find peace and calm.
After countless meetings with the department head, and very little improvement, we pulled him out of mainstream school. We tried homeschooling, it was a dismal failure. Then we approached the Edublox EASY school in our town and they had a spot available to squeeze him in. This school is SPECIFICALLY designed for kids who are “in between” mainstream school and special needs school. Small classes of 10 kids max, and a loving and supportive environment. Cal started to change, he started to recover from his Autistic burn out. He began masking less and less and he started to understand that his new school was a safe place for him to be himself without prejudice. His marks started improving and the subjects he struggled with became easier and easier for him to do. He discovered a love of creative writing and has excelled in every area.
This journey of 9 years of trying to figure out our child, and find the right place for him has shown me that there are families out there who are all in the same boat. Some have means and some don’t. Some have easy access to diagnostic assessments and some don’t. The government schooling is letting all these fringe kids down with their inability to keep up with the sheer numbers of children that are in classes. My heart breaks for those families who have no access to therapies and schools for their children with similar struggles to Cal.
So we came up with a plan.
The merch range was birthed by my son, Cal. He wanted to create a range of clothing that fellow neurodivergent kids would love. The kids range of merch is designed by him. As a family, we strongly believe in giving our children the opportunity to empower themselves. With an entrepreneurial spirit we encourage our kids to make a difference where they can. Our hearts are to use this merch range and blog to bring awareness to and support for neurodivergent children and families that need it the most.
We decided to keep a portion of the sales in a fund to help those children and families get the diagnosis, I.E.P. applications and O.T. therapy that they need. We live a privileged life, and there are hundreds of thousands of children in South Africa who are being lost to a broken schooling system. Our vision to make a difference for these children, locally, provincially and nationally. So join us in supporting neurodiversity, invest in our vision by purchasing some amazing merch and watch how we can all make a difference to a family.
Follow the blog, find us on FB and Instagram, like, share and tell the world about how they can make a change to a child’s life.
You can get in touch with me directly if you have any more questions, or would like to talk about neurodiversity.
