I celebrated a birthday recently, not decimal nor particularly significant, it just marked the passing of another year. As it approached I received an email from a friend I’d not heard from for some time and she asked me all the usual “How are you? What’s been happening?” type of questions that you do when […]
Systems that Work for a Williams Syndrome Adult
Have you ever read the book ‘The One Minute Millionaire’ by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen? It’s filled with great ideas and ‘Aha’ moments. If you haven’t read it yet, I can heartily recommend it, whether you actually want to make “a million” or not. It really is a book about abundance and the […]
Incontinence Assessment
We’ve been aware that Linda seems to be thirsty, drinking plenty of liquids and also goes to the toilet frequently… so much so that we asked the GP to check her out for diabetes. That’s a quick dipstick test in a sample of urine – tricky to get the urine, simple to do the test! […]
Lighting the Blue Touchpaper
How do they do it??? How do they always seem to know just how to get under your skin, to find the spot, to light the blue touchpaper and set off the fireworks? Oh I know it’s not personal and it’s not that bad really but just sometimes it feels like it! Today we had […]
Water to Stimulate Your Brain
Getting up is a staged process in our household. I pass Linda’s bedroom door on the way downstairs and give a knock before entering to wake her from sleep. She stirs and, given half a chance crawls back under the duvet – no chance – it’s time to get up. I make her a cup […]
Understanding Williams Syndrome: Behavioral Patterns and Interventions
We recently bought this book: “Understanding Williams Syndrome: Behavioral Patterns and Interventions” by Eleanor Semel and Sue R. Rosner as the title and description on Amazon made it sound like just what we wanted to read – an expert text on Williams Syndrome but also pitched at parents and carers. It also promised to both […]
It’s So Difficult Letting Them Learn!
We all know that children or even adults with disabilities learn things by doing things. Linda has been going to cookery classes for a few weeks now and turning out some delicious dishes! My problem here, and yes, this is all mine, is letting her get on with learning how to do this. When you […]
Wonderful Williams Syndrome Words
Tonight we were doing the washing up and Linda was watching birds in the garden as she wiped a glass with the tea towel. And there it was again. Another example of that wonderful turn of phrase that Williams Syndrome adults are so reknowned for… as she exclaimed: “Well stone me, with a feather!”. I’m […]
Williams Syndrome FISH Test Explained
If you are living or working with someone who you suspect has Williams Syndrome, the chances are that you’ll be talking with a medical specialist about this at some stage soon. You may discuss the typical signs and symptoms of Williams Syndrome and you can certainly read our other articles on this site. It won’t […]
Sister, Can I Have a Tablet?
Living with Linda full time means you get to really see how common things are on a day by day basis. One phrase that comes up again and again is: “Sister, can I have a tablet?” Linda is asking for medication, paracetamol usually, for… well sometimes it’s a headache, sometimes tummy pain, sometimes joint pains. […]