Walking with a ‘scallywag’…

happily standing on his ‘scallywag’ with his dirty and scraped jeans after a meltdown

During our son’s assessment, we had another child. We were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Although it was very hard few months not knowing about ASD and coming in to terms with his diagnosis. He was diagnosed with ASD at 2 years and 7 months , on the summer of 2010.

It was particularly difficult keeping a full time job and my husband on a week on and week off rota. I was advised by our social worker to apply for a carer’s allowance, It wasn’t enough to pay the private child care which is necessary for his early intervention to build social skills.

He fortunately had a place a few days a week in MENCAP children’s centre which cater for children with special needs. MENCAP provided transport on the days he goes to the children’s centre.

Because of unfortunate circumstance we have to move house away from the child care centre where he goes. Since I don’t drive and my husband is always away, I had a hard time travelling him. It takes 2 buses to get there. Taxis are particularly expensive going back and forth dropping him off and picking him up. He was struggling without a routine. With a basic maternity pay, I couldn’t afford to take a taxi and had to take the bus.

When he was a toddler, it was already difficult to travel him on a pram on a bus. The crying and screaming is too much. During rush hours, it was even harder to get on a bus esp if there are other people with prams and we were refused to get on the bus.

When the baby came, he can’t sit on a pram anymore which was a big change in routine and of course his comfort. A social worker advised me to use a buggy board. The ‘scallywag buggy board‘ was like a heaven’s sent for me. He enjoyed travelling on it. It probably made him in control because he is holding the pram handles. It feels more secure because he won’t be able to run and looks like he felt ‘in control’ of the pram.

Travelling was still very hard. Slightly deaf and numb from embarrassment when he throws major tantrums. The ‘scallywag‘ made it slightly easier for me to keep him calm because he can sit on it’s step when he needs a time out and he doesn’t get tired much.

The following school year he got a place in a nearby mainstream nursery which he doesn’t get a transport. The scallywag came in handy during school runs , shopping and getting out and about with the baby.