Finding beauty in SEN.
Let’s rename it Sunshine, Energy, Nature! Everyday should have a pocket of sunshine, SEN or not.
No, this isn’t going to be a happy go lucky shiny and glittery post. But it’s also not going to be gloom and doom. So please read on.
As most of you on here are either Sen parents or have an interest in following our sen journey, I wanted to possibly raise a few eyebrows, or perhaps and more ideally, start a conversation…
my question is: why does SEN always look so bland? If you Google any sen related questions which divert you to sen websites, they are so antiquated. They’re definitely not my go to. I will be quite blunt and also say a lot of the social media accounts which are predominantly sen are rather mundane, a little boring to be completely honest. And perhaps mine THE STAR WHISPERER is too for many of you… that goes without saying.
My point here is SEN must be beautiful. In a world where everything is rather hard, why not make it pretty?
I freelance in the kidswear fashion industry and therefore am rather lucky to have a few links here and there. I was recently sent a gorgeous drawstring bag, which was named after my sen child Edo, by a small brand called 46 Stitch who had collaborated with a sen mum and brand consultant “a style lab company”.
Proceeds from the sales of these bags were being donated to the national autistic society. The bags were beautiful, tasteful, delightful. They were still practical and sensible and beautiful. Because the sen world deserves beautiful things too. And guess what, they sold out within days! Of course they did! Sen parents are craving beautiful things!
Often the clothing and accessories targeted at us sen parents are loud and come across a little aggressive. They are bold and rainbow and in your face.
They shout at society rather than gently explain. And if anyone knows me, I love to explain… we all deserve to be gently informed rather than accused of not being inclusive.
So here’s the thing… I’ll be using this newsletter to try and highlight the beauty of sen. Whether that be brands that are doing some great things, whether it be events that can work for us lot too or perhaps stories and people and how their sen is lightening up someone’s world, I’ll use this right here to spread that.
We were on holiday over the Easter holidays and all my son saw was pure beauty. He saw the colours of nature, he saw the raw landscapes the island had to offer him and he smelt (not tried) some new foods he hadn’t smelt before. He also found it hard. At times he was rigid and upset. At times he was loud through frustration, at times he was loud through pure happiness. We got some looks during a boat excursion we took. I wondered what they thought of him, or what they thought was wrong with him, or perhaps they thought he was a spoilt boy with no caring parents to guide him. But what stood out was a couple, probably late 60’s, that every so often would smile at us, it was their reassurance and their non verbal way of saying just carry on and ignore the other looks.
That’s the beauty I took away with me that day. That is what the sen world needs to transform into. Something pretty: superficially as well as meaningfully. Because we deserve to have a beautiful world too.
So this is where I need your help. If you are a brand making some gorgeous products related to sen in any way, please reach out! I would really like to share more! If you are a sen parent or carer that wants to share anything with me on events you’ve been to or places to go which are good fun and don’t care if our kids are having meltdowns, please do!
I’ll leave you with a very kind 30% off zippos circus promo code (ZC251) you can use on any of their locations. They kindly reached out to my Instagram account wanting to advertise the fact that they are Sen friendly and that their shows are fun and enjoyable for all.
Lastly, feel free to unfollow me with no hard feelings! I will still very much talk about small brands on here as they are my true passion but I will start using this platform more and more as a little hub for beautiful sen stuff!