Podcast Episode 18. You need to focus forward 100%, and not waste your energy looking backwards, according to Robyn. Robyn lives in Sydney with her son Riley, his younger brother and her husband. She talks about the early years, finding out Riley has autism and how their family dealt with this news. As she says Riley is a child with autism rather than an autistic child, because before anything else Riley is a child.

Robyn talks about the challenges in finding the right school for Riley and how she and her family were determined he would have every opportunity available to him. As part of this they explored a variety of interventions including speech and language therapy.

Robyn advocates getting on your cranky pants when those in charge don’t respect the value of your child. She shows us there is a time for thought and a time for action. She also talks about the fact that your family, and most importantly your child, must stay the axis of the wheel so that everything works for them not for any preconceived ideas or system. Robyn reminds us that as parents/guardians we are our child’s greatest advocate and that our positivity will permeate throughout their lives helping them to achieve so much more than a system often expects of them.

Show Notes
[1.15]   – All about Robyn and her son Riley
[1.40
]   – Getting the diagnosis
[3.40]   – Child first autism second
[5.30]   – Early intervention is missed
[6.50]    – Pulling the cranky pants on
[8.15]    – How great it is to be able to say ‘No thanks we’re fine’
[11.00]  – Utilising the tools that Riley has and finding every resource available
[14.30] – Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken
[15.30] – Look forward 100% of the time
[16.15] – The support wheel with the family at the centre
[17.15] – Moving to mainstream schooling
[19.00] – Don’t worry – He’s my first too

Key Takeaways
Planning ahead
Don’t think about fixing your child they’re are not broken they are unique
Focus 100% ahead not think about whats behind