FamilyFX Blog
Free, practical answers to the questions parents of neurodivergent children ask. Find a clear explanation, useful next steps and links to more detail when you need it.
74 posts
Community life and inclusion
How do we handle eating out with a child who finds restaurants hard?
Choose the part of eating out that matters, reduce the waiting and food pressure, and keep a practical exit and alternative meal available.
Written July 2026
Community life and inclusion
What should I pack for a day out with a child who needs sensory support?
Pack a small, familiar day-out kit around the child's likely barriers, essential care and the planned way to pause or leave.
Written July 2026
Assessment and diagnosis
What should I ask at the assessment feedback appointment?
A focused set of questions for understanding the conclusion, evidence, uncertainty, recommendations and next actions after assessment.
Written June 2026
Assessment and diagnosis
What if my child masks during the assessment?
How to explain a difference between clinic, school and home without claiming that one calm appointment proves or rules out masking.
Written June 2026
Assessment and diagnosis
How do I tell my child about their diagnosis?
How to explain an ADHD or autism diagnosis in a clear, respectful conversation that connects with your child's own experience.
Written June 2026
Attendance and exclusions
What to say to school when my child cannot attend
A clear same-day message for school, plus the facts and questions that help turn a missed morning into a practical attendance plan.
Written June 2026
Puberty and teenagers
My teenager wants a boyfriend or girlfriend. How do I help?
Support a teenager to date with clear expectations about consent, respect, online contact, private information and routes to help.
Written May 2026
Puberty and teenagers
My teenager refuses to shower. What can I do?
Find the point that makes showering difficult, offer another workable way to wash and keep the conversation factual and private.
Written May 2026
Puberty and teenagers
How do I plan ahead for my child leaving school?
Start leaving-school planning with the next decision, the young person’s priorities and separate actions for course, support, travel and health.
Written May 2026
Co-parenting and wider family
What do I say when a relative criticises how I parent?
Answer the concern briefly, make the practical boundary clear and keep the child out of an argument about your parenting.
Written May 2026
Co-parenting and wider family
How do we blend two families when one child is neurodivergent?
Build new relationships slowly, make household differences visible and protect every child from being assigned a family role.
Written May 2026
Parent wellbeing
Why do I feel guilty even when I am doing my best?
Separate a repair you need to make from impossible standards, painful trade-offs and responsibility that never belonged to you.
Written May 2026
Parent wellbeing
How do we stay connected as a couple when parenting is this hard?
Protect a small relationship channel, make care ownership visible and discuss one pressure point without turning connection into another task.
Written May 2026
Siblings and family
How do we plan a family day out that works for everyone?
Plan around the part each person values, make compromise visible and agree how the family can split or leave without calling the day a failure.
Written April 2026
Siblings and family
How do I help my children make up after a fight?
Separate first, hear each child privately and repair the actual harm without forcing apology, forgiveness or immediate closeness.
Written April 2026
Communication and friendships
Why do group chats cause so much trouble for my child?
Group chats combine speed, missing tone, shifting audiences and visible exclusion. Slow the problem down without demanding total withdrawal.
Written April 2026
Screens and gaming
Are my child's online friends real friends?
Online friendship can be meaningful. Assess mutuality, safety, pressure and effect without dismissing the relationship or trusting an account at face value.
Written April 2026
Boundaries and demand avoidance
Why does my child say no before I finish asking?
Why an immediate no may respond to the approach, expected pattern or pressure before the child has processed the actual request.
Written March 2026
Boundaries and demand avoidance
How do I stop a small refusal turning into a stand-off?
A short exit from the argument loop: pause, name the fixed outcome, reduce language and use an adult default without adding threats.
Written March 2026
Boundaries and demand avoidance
What does a low-arousal approach look like at home?
What parents can lower during rising distress, what must remain clear and why low arousal is not a promise to remove every boundary.
Written March 2026
Eating and toileting
What should I do when my child will not use the toilet at school?
How to identify the school-toilet barrier, protect bowel and bladder health and agree a discreet access plan with staff.
Written March 2026
Routines and transitions
Why is starting homework the hardest part of the day?
A short route from after-school recovery into finding the assignment, opening it and completing one real first action.
Written February 2026
Routines and transitions
How do I support my child through the move to a new school year?
A focused plan for a new teacher, room and timetable, transferring useful support and making the first weeks easier to recover from.
Written February 2026
Routines and transitions
How do I stop the daily fight over packing the school bag?
A short school-bag sequence that separates school information, prepared items, the child’s check and the adult responsibilities that remain.
Written February 2026
Executive function
Why does my child interrupt and act before thinking?
Why the useful thought can arrive after the words or movement, and how to build a brief, visible pause in real conversations.
Written February 2026
Executive function
What should I do when my child says “I’ll do it in a minute”?
How to turn an indefinite promise into a clear transition, cue and first action without beginning another reminder argument.
Written February 2026
Executive function
How do I use timers without them causing panic?
How to make time visible without turning every countdown into threat, urgency or an abrupt loss of control.
Written February 2026
Executive function
What is body doubling, and does it work for children?
What people mean by body doubling, why nearby presence may help a child begin, and why it should be tested rather than presented as a proven treatment.
Written February 2026
Identity and self-esteem
Why does my teenager want to keep their diagnosis private?
Why a teenager may keep an ADHD or autism diagnosis private and how parents can protect choice while arranging necessary support.
Written February 2026
Identity and self-esteem
How do I explain my child's diagnosis to grandparents and family?
How to give relatives useful information about a child’s ADHD or autism diagnosis while protecting the child’s voice and privacy.
Written February 2026
Identity and self-esteem
What do I say when my child asks why they are different?
A short, honest way to answer a child who asks why they feel or seem different, with or without a diagnosis.
Written February 2026
Sensory processing
Why is the supermarket such a disaster?
How to separate the sensory and practical demands of shopping, reduce the load and decide which parts your child needs to attend.
Written January 2026
Sensory processing
Which sensory changes help most in an ordinary classroom?
Start with the lesson and barrier: practical changes to sound, seating, movement, visual load and exits that can be reviewed in an ordinary classroom.
Written January 2026
Sensory processing
What is a sensory profile, and who can put one together?
A sensory profile records the situations that help or hinder a child so families and schools can make practical, testable changes.
Written January 2026
Behaviour
Should I ignore the behaviour?
How to decide when a low-key response may help, what must never be ignored and how to stay available to the child without feeding a repeated sequence.
Written January 2026
Behaviour
What can I say when I do not know what is wrong?
Short, honest phrases for staying connected when a child is distressed and neither of you can yet explain why.
Written January 2026
Behaviour
Is my child manipulating me?
How to move from the label manipulating to a precise account of what a child is trying, learning or struggling to communicate.
Written January 2026
AuDHD and complex profiles
What should I tell an assessor when my child has several needs at once?
A concise way to prepare evidence when autism, ADHD, anxiety, language, learning, motor or other needs may overlap.
Written December 2025
AuDHD and complex profiles
Is my child's speech difficulty part of autism or a separate language need?
Why speech, language and social communication need their own assessment when a child is autistic or being considered for autism assessment.
Written December 2025
Autism
Why is break time harder than lessons for my autistic child?
Why unstructured school time can be demanding for autistic children and how schools can provide choice, clarity and genuine recovery.
Written December 2025
Autism
Is it true that autistic children do not want friends?
Why autistic children may want friendship while finding conventional social settings difficult, and how adults can support connection without forcing performance.
Written December 2025
Autism
Autistic child or child with autism? What the words mean
Why people use identity-first or person-first autism language, what autistic people tend to prefer and how to follow an individual child’s lead.
Written December 2025
ADHD
Why is my child so different at school and at home?
Why attention, activity and impulsivity can look different across home and school, and how to compare the demands and support in each setting.
Written December 2025
ADHD
What are the strengths that often come with ADHD?
A careful way to recognise an individual child’s strengths without promising that ADHD gives everyone the same talents.
Written December 2025
ADHD
Is ADHD caused by screens, sugar or parenting?
What current evidence says about ADHD, screens, sugar and parenting, with practical ways to respond without blame or sweeping claims.
Written December 2025
Preparing for adulthood
What is Disabled Students' Allowance, and how does my teenager apply?
How Disabled Students’ Allowance works, what it may fund and how to apply through the correct student-finance service.
Written November 2025
Preparing for adulthood
How do we start teaching independent travel?
How to teach one familiar journey in manageable stages, including route practice, road safety, shadowing and a back-up plan.
Written November 2025
GP, NHS and medication
Will ADHD medication change my child's personality?
ADHD medication should be reviewed against agreed goals and adverse effects, not against a vague idea of being quieter. Learn how to describe a concerning change.
Written November 2025
Meltdowns and shutdowns
The best ways to head off a meltdown before it starts
Meltdowns often have a build-up. Learning your child’s early signs gives you a chance to reduce noise, demands and other sources of pressure.
Written November 2025
GP, NHS and medication
Is it normal for ADHD medication to change my child's appetite or mood?
How to record appetite or mood changes after ADHD medication starts, and when the medicine’s instructions call for quicker or emergency help.
Written November 2025
GP, NHS and medication
What should I expect when my child starts ADHD medication?
Starting ADHD medication involves a baseline assessment, specialist-led titration and planned monitoring. Here is what to clarify before the first prescription.
Written November 2025
Attendance and exclusions
The best ways to prepare an autistic child for starting secondary school
Prepare for secondary school by answering your child's practical questions, sharing useful support information and checking the first weeks.
Written November 2025
Attendance and exclusions
My child refuses to go to school, what can I do?
What to do when your child cannot get into school, how to look for the reason, and how to build a practical attendance plan with the school.
Written November 2025
School and SEN support
What support can my teenager get for GCSEs with ADHD or autism?
Everyday GCSE support and exam access arrangements for teenagers with ADHD or autism, including evidence, normal way of working and who to ask.
Written November 2025
School and SEN support
How to prepare for a meeting with the SENCO
Prepare for a useful SENCO meeting: choose priorities, bring clear examples, include your child’s view and leave with actions and a review date.
Written November 2025
School and SEN support
What are my child’s rights to support at school in England?
A practical guide to SEN support, reasonable adjustments and EHC needs assessments in England, including what to ask the school to record and review.
Written November 2025
School and SEN support
How do I ask my child’s school for more support?
How to raise a school concern clearly, ask what support is already in place and agree a practical change that can be recorded and reviewed.
Written November 2025
Parent wellbeing
How do I repair things after I lose my temper with my child?
Return when you can speak steadily, apologise without excuses and change the repeated pressure point without asking your child to ease your guilt.
Written November 2025
Siblings and family
The best ways to help siblings when one child needs a lot of support
Ask what family life is costing this sibling, protect something that belongs to them and keep regular caring responsibility with adults.
Written November 2025
Communication and friendships
The best ways to help an autistic child make one good friend
Make meeting one compatible child easier through shared interest, a manageable setting and support that leaves the relationship to them.
Written November 2025
Screens and gaming
The best ways to set screen-time limits that stick
Turn one recurring screen problem into a clear limit with a visible ending, workable warning, adult follow-through and review.
Written November 2025
Communication and friendships
My child has no friends, how can I help?
Find out whether your child feels lonely, excluded or content with less company, then choose the next step that fits the actual problem.
Written November 2025
Screens and gaming
How do I get my ADHD child off games without a meltdown?
Plan one gaming transition around the real stopping point, a usable warning, a clear next step and a low-language response if distress rises.
Written November 2025
Eating and toileting
Why will my autistic child only eat a few foods, and what helps?
How to protect a child’s reliable foods, understand what makes eating possible and recognise when restricted eating needs assessment.
Written November 2025
Eating and toileting
The best ways to handle mealtimes when ADHD medication affects appetite
How to protect nutrition, record the pattern and involve the prescriber when a child eats less after starting or changing ADHD medication.
Written November 2025
Sleep and rest
The best ways to help an autistic child who won't stay in bed
Work out why your child is leaving the bed, meet the real need and make the return calm and predictable rather than starting a nightly contest.
Written November 2025
Sleep and rest
Why won't my ADHD child fall asleep, and what helps?
Identify whether the difficulty is starting bedtime, not feeling sleepy, discomfort, worry, medication or another sleep concern, then choose the next step.
Written November 2025
Sleep and rest
How do I get a teenager with ADHD to put their phone down and sleep?
Build a workable night-time phone plan while checking whether the phone is delaying sleep or filling time when sleep has not arrived.
Written November 2025
Identity and self-esteem
How do I help a child who says they hate themselves?
How to respond to self-hating words, ask directly about safety and know when a child needs urgent mental-health help.
Written November 2025
Meltdowns and shutdowns
Why does my child melt down after school, and what helps?
School can leave a child tired, hungry or overloaded even when they seemed settled all day. A quieter arrival home may make the afternoon easier.
Written November 2025
Meltdowns and shutdowns
The best ways to support a PDA teenager (what works and what backfires)
A careful guide to marked demand avoidance in teenagers: what PDA means, what may help and why no strategy should be treated as a universal method.
Written November 2025
Meltdowns and shutdowns
What is the difference between a meltdown and a tantrum?
A tantrum usually grows from frustration. A meltdown is a loss of control caused by overwhelm. The distinction is useful, but it is not always obvious.
Written November 2025
Meltdowns and shutdowns
How do I stay calm when my child is melting down?
A simple plan can help you respond more steadily during a meltdown, even when you feel frightened, angry or overwhelmed yourself.
Written November 2025
AuDHD and complex profiles
Why is my neurodivergent child so anxious, and what helps?
Practical ways to respond when an autistic or ADHD child is worried, avoidant, irritable or overwhelmed, and when to seek more help.
Written November 2025