School Uniform From Trutex (Review)

Take a look at how grown up my daughters looking.

She’s in primary school but is still required to wear a uniform. The policy is rather strict and we have to abide by it.

Alice wears a grey, white and claret uniform. We usually find it easy to buy her uniform but often find we have problems obtaining the claret red cardigan or jumpers.

We decided to give trutex a try. They offered to send us some uniform for Alice to try which included a really thick claret button up cardie with warm fleece lining. Alice loves it, especially given the mornings are so cold now.

The grey pinafore dress is of really good quality too. Alice does prefer to wear a dress with a polo shirt underneath (which Trutex) also supplied. Wearing a skirt means everything needs tucking in. This way she is much more comfortable.

The dress is actually really cute with its small cherry design which keeps it girly and adds a little fun.

All three items that we were sent were of excellent quality. On washing the garments they have remained bright and in good shape (even the white polo shirt which I find will often go off-white very quickly). The fleece lining inside the cardigan didn’t shard any fluff which is great as I often find this to be a problem with other brands.

Trutex isn’t the cheapest in school uniform providers but it isn’t the most expensive neither. Sometimes it worth paying that little bit more as you actually save more money long term as the garments last longer.

To find a store close to you click Here

Back to school with Matalan

Some weeks back, I wrote a post giving some, ‘Back to school tips’ to fellow parents of children on the autism spectrum. One of these tips related to shopping and the common issues experienced when having to shop with a child on the autism spectrum. With these issues in mind, I made the suggestion of purchasing your, “Back to school necessities” online, and to do so within good time!

Well, I must admit, that I myself failed, “Yet Again” to follow my own advice. Last week I still had school shoes, lunch boxes, PE kits and more to buy!

Well, thank you Matalan for saving me from what may have been, a shopping nightmare! Little man has been known to have some almighty mid shop meltdowns and I didn’t fancy another!

Yes, the lovely people at Matalan sent me an email setting me a challenge. I’m pretty used to challenges, but in this case it was the welcomed type!

The Challenge

Matalan online sent me a £50 voucher,  all I had to do was spend it carefully, getting as much for my £50 as possible. Lastly, I was to share my bargains here with my readers!

No problem, I’m not only a mother but a woman who loves to shop!

Bring it on!!!

So,  from the comfort of my sofa, with no meltdowns, anxiety or tears, I went shopping at Matalans online store.

On loading the site, I discovered that there was a sale showcasing items from just £1, (Oh yes, that’s my type of sale)!

So, voucher at hand, here’s what I got…

1) Girls button shoes (Black) Price: £8

2) Boys black trainer (Black) Price: £7

3) Black slash design leggings, Sale Price: £1 (reduced from: £6)

4) Back to school wheel design lunch bag, Price: £5

5) Back to school wheel design drinks bottle, Price: £2

6) Girls red school cardigan, Price: £4.50

7) Grey baker boy girls hat, Price: £3

8) Red Pump bag, Price: £1.50

9) Black Velcro Plimsolls, Price: £2.50

10) Girls five pack of briefs, Price: £3.50

11) Girls Hooch studded biker boot, Sale Price: £3.75 (reduced from £15)

After having added all the above to my trolley, I discovered I still had £8.25 left to spend, and what with having already got all I needed, I decided to get…

12) 3 Price red pan non stick pan set, Sale Price: £5.50 (reduced from £22)

13) Non padded Balconette bra, Sale price: £2 (reduced from £6)

14) Daisy white D plus bra, Sale Price: £1 (reduced from £6)

Total £50.25

Ok, Ok, I went 25p over, though I think that’s good for me.

That’s 14 items listed there, didn’t I do well?

Red pump bag £1.50, black plimsolls £2.50 and 5pk of girls briefs £3.50

Girls Baker boy hat, £3

Left: Boys wheel design lunch bag £5 and right matching bottle £2 

Red girls Cardigan, £4.50  

Delivery

delivery was super fast, arriving at my door with a smile just two days after I placed the order. My delivery was free as part of the challenge, however, Matalan are offering all customers spending £40 or more a special delivery rate of just £2 for a limited time.

Exclusive

I also received an exclusive reward, ‘A boredom busting voucher booklet’ entitling me to a discount of 20% of at ‘Yellow Moon’ as well as lots of other offers to keep the kids smiling such as, Kids bowl free, kids go free to Merlin attractions, (Legoland, Chessington and more) 2 for one on visits to Merlin attractions and many more.To little man’s delight the boredom busting booklet also contain a 25% off City sightseeing bus tours (yep, we’re going next week).

I am unsure if the promotion is still active. To find out, or check for any other offers, check the Matalan site or the blog (URLs at the bottom of the page).

Sale

The Sale is currently still on and is offering some items at a massive 75% off  As you can see from the above, it hosts some great bargains!

For me my best buy has to be the Hooch boots that had a fabulous £11.25 saving. These will do Alice-Sara proud in the winter I’m sure! They look really well made, as-well as being bang on trend.

Leggings £1 (were £6) Girls biker boots by Hooch, £3.75 (were £15) 

The non stick pans, well, how can you resist a price like this? £5.50 is a steal.

Non-stick pans in Red, £5.50 (was £22) 

The two bras are a bargain at £6 each but getting them both for £3 is super, and was simply my little teat to me! (Sorry guys I haven’t posted a pic of these but you can check out the underwear range online)

We decided that the leggings were much to nice for PE and having only cost £1 we are very pleased with them.

Even the items not in the sale were a steal. Little man has problems with his fine motor skills, making laces a problem! His black trainers with velcro fastening are ideal and a great price too!

Girls Black button shoes, £8 

Boys black trainers, £7

Autumn range

I was sent some fantastic books showcasing the new women’s and homeware range for the Autumn. The books were super posh and came with CD-ROMs

It’s clear to see that Matalan’s have had a redesign and I was pretty  impressed and excited at what was on offer throughout both of these books.

Looks like its going to be a fantastic Autumn at Matalan this year.

to shop at Matalan just click HERE

Visit the Matalan sale Here or the blog HERE

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Related articles

• Next and Matalan make big impact in August Hot Shops List (weblogs.hitwise.com)
• Matalan Launches Fashion and Style Blog Fashion Advice and Trend Tips from the Experts at Matalan (prweb.com)
• Save money on back to school basics (moneysupermarket.com)
• Matalan’s Fab Autumn/Winter collection. (fashion-mommy.com)

Do your homework!

As a parent I’ve read many articles floating about the net, all written with the aim of assisting parents who have children returning to school this September. I find that many do not offer any information to assist those parents of the “non typical” children, the child with autism or aspergers.

 In some respects I kind of think, “Well, why would they” but when I  think about the high numbers of children being diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, I ask myself, “Well, why the hell haven’t they!” I’m no expert, “Far from it” but as a parent of an almost 11 year old  boy with a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome who has been through both mainstream and special school (where he thankfully now resides) a child who was an active school refuser, who had been excluded more times than I care to remember, I have needed to tried one or two techniques aimed to ease the whole returning to school situation! It’s these few little techniques that I am willing to share with you here today! Sadly there are no quick fixes, believe me I know!

  I Hate this uniform

 Uniform, a total nightmare for the child with autism, especially the one who is tactile defensive! We all like to buy new school uniforms at the beginning of  the new school year (we often don’t have a choice what with the rate they grow)! However, if that uniform still fits, don’t change it! Of course there are those times it unavoidable, change of school, the start of secondary school is one great example that a new uniform will need to be brought! When little man was at his mainstream school, they suddenly introduced a new school uniform policy. Uniform posed a massive problem for little man causing all sorts of issues (even exclusion). He went from no uniform to full uniform, a huge change for any child! So, Here’s some tips on ways to make wearing uniform that little bit easier for your child on the autism spectrum!

 Get it washed

That’s right, wash new uniform in your usual detergent, not once but a good few times prior to your child returning to school. Use a fabric softener and if possible dry in the tumble-dryer as opposed to the washing-line, where clothing tends to become stiff. The tumble-drying of uniform will help to create maximum softness of garments.

 Test run

Get your child wearing the uniform for a few minutes each day increasing the time as you go. This enables your child time to get used to uniform rather then expecting them to wear it for the first time when returning to school. Think of it as wearing in a new pair of  shoes to ensure they don’t hurt your feet when you wear them on your big night out for the first time.

Let’s not go Shopping

 Most children with autism hate the prospect of shopping, even those that enjoy it fail to cope with it well. If you are lucky enough to be in the position of leaving your child with a loved one when doing your, “back to school shop” then do so. If something don’t fit you can always return it! Shopping online is another good idea. Try to buy from those you have brought from before. This way you will have an idea of the ranges they stock and the service you will receive (fast delivery, good  returns policy , etc.) Your child will also be familiar with the texture, material of the clothing, important for those who are sensitive to certain tactile input. If you do find you have to take your child shopping then go at a quieter time/day. Have the aim of buying everything in the one shop (if  possible). You can also check stock before hand if stock is in! Some stores will be helpful enough to check and then hold the items back (especially if  you explain your situation) This means you can pretty much do an in & out job which could save your child from experiencing a sensory related meltdown!

 Advanced preparation

 Most schools will introduce all children to a new teacher or learning environment (classroom) before the last day of term. This is fine for the typical child but those on the spectrum may require that bit extra!  If your child is in a special school then it’s my guess lots will be done to prepare your child for even the smallest transition.  Mainstream schools also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for the child on the autism spectrum and this would be considered one of  those adjustments! Speak to your child’s teacher or school senco to see if the child  could maybe spend extra time with the new teacher in the run up to the end of term (school year). Maybe arrangements can be made for your child to spend a  few hours per week in the new classroom starting a few months before hand ( though there are times that schools will not be aware of the child’s new learning arrangements till the last few weeks of term, nonetheless, careful preparations need to be made). All the above and more should be done for a child making the transition from pre-school to reception and those off to secondary , etc.

 Social stories

 A great idea would be to create a social story for your child. This could be done with the help of your child’s teaching team. A picture of the new classroom  in-which your child will learn and even a photo of the new teacher could  prove a massive help. You can spend time going through your child’s social story with your child during the school holidays. If this is something you haven’t done already, don’t panic! You can create a social story with the focus of change and returning to school with cut-outs from magazines, newspapers or from visuals downloaded from the net, it’s never to late!

 Visual aids

It’s important to use visual timetables at home if used in school, this helps to create some level of consistency. Many children require images & picture symbols where others do just fine with words. Visual timetables can be expensive but you can get creative and make your own (maybe I will show you how in a post one day). Be sure to highlight during the holidays how many days are let till the return to school (Children on the spectrum like to know what’s coming next). We had this highlighted at the side of  little mans home made magnetic timetable. We just used the symbol for school with the correct number next to it as to indicate how many days remained till he returns to school. This is also a great way to avoid school refusal.

Consistency 

Another good thing to do is remain consistent throughout the school holidays. I mean keeping the bedtime routine the same. Sadly little man has trouble maintaining bedtime routines at the best of times which  technically puts me in no position to advise on the matter! Still, the concept is a good one, which is basically to keep things the same! Who knows it could work for you.

 Well, that’s it, I have an arm arch from the typing, so I’m done! I hope my little tips assist you in some way, even if it just makes one thing less trying that’s got to be something?

 Little man has just two and a bit weeks left. Here’s hoping we have a  good return to school.

Related articles

• What can help a student on the spectrum succeed in college? (autismspeaks.org)
• Giving Children on Autism Spectrum A Different Kind of Rail Connection (nytimes.com)

Getting to grips with the seven senses

Have you ever found that something caused you such annoyance that the stressfulness of the situation forces you to stay away, avoiding the source of stress at all cost?

What about if something caused you pain and discomfort would you avoid the source inorder to gain control, be free from the pain, living your life in the most prosperous way you could?

Imagine if the most common stimuli… sounds, smells etc… caused you the above on a daily basis! Everyday tasks being a protentral hazard causing you high levels of anxiety… But even worse you are unable to escape the trigger but instead expected to tolorate it!

imagine if you hated spiders, feared them more then anything else but u were forced to let one crawl all over your body… How would that make you feel?

Think of a situation, a fear or phobia that causes you high levels of distress, imagine having to deal with it every single day! Yet no one “gets it” your totally isolated and alone… Being seen as a drama queen, attention seeker or labelled as a trouble maker.

So many children & adults on the autism spectrum have difficulties with their sensory processing, some more then others, however when it’s a problem it’s likely to be a significant one! School, home, shopping centre where-ever the trigger lie, problems with sensory processing can be experienced just about anywhere. School is an obvious culprit for children given the amount of time they spend there. School can present huge problem, unstructured time is normally always a trigger for the child on the spectrum and you may find as a parent that your child is being labelled as challenging as a result of this.

There are seven senses that make up our sensory system… These are Vestibular (movement-balance), proprioceptive (body awareness), tactile (touch), auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), gustatory (taste) and olfactory (smell) Some may have problems with all the above, a few or non at all! It just depends on the individual.

The example of the spider was given to me by my very clever little man, who was trying to explain to me how he felt when forced to tuck his shirt into his school trousers (school uniform was a huge problem when in mainstream)

Little man has a range of sensory processing problems some worse then others. I would definitely say that he has the most difficulties with his tactile sense but auditory, visual and olfactory come pretty close. These have become more obvious with age.

It is said that people who are tactile devensive will likely have problems with fine motor skills that are related to academics and self-care skill which is very true for little man.

Lights tend to upset him too. While at the library with his tutor he was finding it hard to engage due to the lighting. This was because the lights were all different which meant they all let of a different degree of light, some brighter then others. When he first started he came home and asked, “Mum, why can’t the library stick to the one type of lighting instead of having all different types” he then went on to say… “Some flicker and buzz which is so… annoying!” He would also come home with a pounding headache. This was due to both the lighting and the fact he had actually engaged in work alday something he hadn’t done for the whole of 2010 while in mainstream. His now managing to cope reasonable well with the lighting and if anything his becoming quite good at blocking it out. As long as he isn’t sat in the brightest spot or beneath a buzzing bulb his OK.

His tutor is excellent and has worked out that by letting little man listen to music through his headphones (oh yes Bruno Mars is repeatedly played) while working he can engage better. Many don’t get this but his a bit like me there! I will blast music through my earphones while tackling important work as it means I am able to block out the world and completely get into my own zone resulting in getting important work finished ontime and to a high standard.

Every single day I learn something new about little man and how AS affects him. It was only the other day that I discovered the reason for little man wanting his trainers done up so tightly that it almost stops the blood flow! It’s actually a sensory related issue! It seems logical now and I can’t understand why I hadn’t realised it before. He says they need to be tight in order for him to remain in control of his feet. Shoes that move around freely give no control he told me. I completely get it now!

Little man can also be a little bit of a sensory seeker. He likes rough and tumble (play fighting) sadly due to the lack of understanding from school little man was all to often excluded for such behaviours. He also likes memory foam pillows, trackpants (he wants to wear the same ones everyday no matter how dirty they have become) and certain textures that he just has to touch.

The above are all fine but he does have a liking for fizzy drinks. This isn’t just a suger thing but definitely a sensory one too… How do I know? Well he cried the other day due to my refusal for him to have a can of fuzzy orangeade. I offered juice and he states “it’s not the same” He then goes on to inform me that it doesn’t feel the same in his mouth or going down his throat.

So there’s a bad habit need fixing.

So… My over all point to this post is for some awareness to come out of it, example… When a parent tells you that, “My child really can’t tuck his shirt in as this causes him physical discomfort that is one step away from what we describe as pain” We don’t really mean… “My child can’t be arsed to tuck his shirt into his trousers” or “My child can tuck in his shirt in but chooses not to as a deliberate attempt to piss you off” We really did actually mean It when we told you he can’t!!! For you to state, “Really I’m sure he can if he wanted to” is really offensive and like asking someone in a wheelchair to walk upstairs!

The child or Adult on the autistic spectrum has an array of difficulties aswell as qualities! Next time you sport a child throwing a “wobbler” in the supermarket, street, school gates or wherever else it may be. Stop and ask yourself is it sensory, is it autism or another difficulty, hidden disability you will never know so therefore should remain openminded before pointing, commenting or passing judgement.

After all how would you deal with fear, phobia, pain and discomfort if those around you had no understanding of it?

Sensory processing problems are very real, just as autism is! And for that reason it should not be looked upon as anything else!