Happy New Year 2025!!

Can you believe it’s been a whole year since you watched us for 31 days straight in our swimming costumes? No? Neither can we!

Some of you who are close to us, know we have been on a journey of discovery during 2024. In November 2024, Albie was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It’s a strange feeling as a parent, a mixture of relief, and confusion about what it all really means for your child and for you. Your child still doesn’t come with a manual and just like neurotypical children and people, no Autistic child is the same. Being proactive as a parent when you’re in “info limbo” is really hard especially because you live in the present, managing meltdowns, and limiting as many triggers as you can identify (and even then, triggers today are not the same as yesterday). I’ve cried so many times last year feeling absolutely helpless in understanding Albie better. But I have got a few steps closer very recently, with help of some special people behind the scenes. Albie has Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). It’s part of the Autism spectrum and is becoming far more understood.

Explaining this to our friends and family is difficult, because we are also just understanding it ourselves. We’ve watched webcasts, read some books, followed others on social media who can speak with some experience of what a PDA profile child is like. Being brutally honest with you, it’s hard work. Every day. But we are Albie’s voice in a very noisy, stressful world.

How Albie experiences the world is largely through intense anxiety. Sometimes he hides it really well but this comes at a cost to him (and to us). He has a nervous system disability. His behaviour on the surface can look defiant and naughty (like we aren’t good at parenting, and trust me we feel like we aren’t all the time). The key thing to understand is that he has no control over his responses to a demand like: “what cereal would you like?”. His drive for autonomy above everything else, means when we ask anything he isn’t in control of, it manifests in a huge overreaction (on the surface). Imagine how awful it must be living in your body when every question or ask of you feels like you’re being chased by a lion, and you have no control.

We are so lucky to have friends and family who want to understand. This DoeDipping challenge is for a few reasons:

1. We hope to raise awareness and support a charity that now means a lot to us as a family. The PDA Society.

2. We hope it helps you understand Albie and children or adults like Albie, better.

3. We hope to lift your spirits in the long days of January by making you laugh (again) at our expense.

4. We know that the panic we feel by plunging ourselves into cold water is how Albie feels most of the time.

So, wrap up warm, watch the videos (you know I edit like a proper novice) and please share your pennies to a charity that will increasingly be relied upon.

Thank you for your support, kindness, and love.

Hannah & Adam

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.