Let me tell you a secret........ When my children were little leaving the house filled me with dread. The school run would often end up with me in tears. The act of getting from A to B was just so hard. I thought I was a shit parent, but, both my Kids have #autism . This makes certain things harder to do! Things like going "out" 😂 . Now they are bigger it's definitely easier, but finding places we can enjoy like other families is hard. They don't do well in crowds and noise. Pumpkin HATES dark museums and gets terrified about what "could" be round the next corner. The boy needs time to take stuff in and often needs space to be away from people or to run jump and make noises. This is called #stimming it helps him deal with how he is feeling inside. The pictures show one of our visits to the #naturalhistorymuseum , #dawnosaurs when #autisticchildren Can visit at 8 am, well before the massive tourist crowds arrive. The hand dryers are turned off, they provide a sensory room and a quiet picnic room. They provide a "social story" before hand to explain what to expect on the day. They have objects you can touch and knowledgeable staff to explain what they are looking at. Last time we went they had an animal show and Pumpkin touched a snake!!! We even managed to enjoy the "life in the dark" exhibition!!! All round it is a great morning for us. Surrounded by other families who don't judge your children or your parenting by the noises they are making, or their need to get ridiculously close to objects, spin or lie on the floor. I won't lie it's still hard to do, but we get there. And we enjoy it together as a family. Thankyou natural history museum xxx Ps. the kid in the whale picture, who was about 3 happily told me "I want more facts about whales 🐳 I want to know more!!!" 😁 #autismawareness #daysout #realfamilylife https://www.instagram.com/p/BvynKwwHZ40/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vgrec78lg6tx