Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 53 Comments

RED

There are the words that no self respecting Yorkshire person ever thought they might have to utter. No it’s not saying ‘Lancashire is actually quite nice’. No it’s not saying that you can get ‘decent beer down South’. And no it’s not saying that ‘cricket is actually really really, mind numbingly boring…..’.

Here goes….. the words we never thought would be uttered here are.

Yorkshire has an extreme heat weather warning…..

Currently we are just about covered by a Red warning. That is ‘Threat to Life and Serious Risk of disruption to essential services.

WOW

This is Yorkshire. It damp here, it’s windy here, it’s a tad chilly here, often nithering here. It’s a two vest and thermal knickers kinda place. Never extreme heat.

We are the top of the purple bit under the top 42C. Ok it’s not the heat that many places regularly get BUT this is YORKSHIRE. The UK’s highest ever temperature is 38.7C

I know it’s a forecast and this is Yorkshire. We could still ignore the trend and pull out a damp, misty, chilly day but it’s a sobering thought.

A really good friend mentioned about not being able to see the stunning Switzerland glaciers in a just a few years time. They will be gone.

What are we blindly walking into. What are we losing for future generations.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 39 Comments

global storming

It’s finally summer and it feels warm. It’s especially sobering when you see the horrible floods Western Europe have been suffering. So much loss of life. How many wake up calls does it take……

For what it’s worth I wish they had called man made climate change as Global Storming. Severe storms are becoming more prevalent. That’s summer and winter storms. I still here people talk about warming up the planet as being a good thing, making those beach trips even better. I heard that yesterday on the news. Staggering. But surely even those heat seekers don’t want to sign up to more severe storms.

Whether you believe in man made global warming or not, surely we can all agree that we should be doing all we can to stop polluting the world. It’s just the right thing to do. Preserving its beauty and protecting its natural habitats.

It’s still such beautiful planet which we have an obligation to protect for future generations.

Posted on by bereavedandbeingasingleparent · 57 Comments

The future

The National Autistic Society has carried out research on the reality of adults living with autism spectrum disorders. It’s a sobering read.

I just want to highlight some specific lines in the report.

49% of adults with autism or Asperger syndrome are still living at home with their parents. 65% of these adults have had no community care assess- ments and are therefore unlikely to be known to the statutory agencies who should be supporting them.

31% of adults at the lower end of the autism spectrum are still being cared for at home, despite their high level needs. 45% of parents believed their son or daughter required 24-hour care, and only 15% thought they could live in sheltered or shared accommodation.

Only 3% of adults at the higher end of the autism spectrum are living fully independently, and a further 8% are living independently with some regular professional or family support.

As the report points out Families are picking up the care responsibilities in the UK associated with autism. Repeated Government’s have buried their heads in the sand. The current government unbelievably has probably set the bar even lower.

Like many families around the UK (and worldwide) my thoughts are increasingly focusing on the future. What will happen to Hawklad as an adult in our society which is so badly setup for those on the spectrum. Let’s just say that its currently not an entirely reassuring feeling I have. Yes I’m worried.