07/08/2026
We went to London on Wednesday. The plan was Kensington Palace β a big day out, and if you know anything about taking an autistic family into central London, you'll know that's not a small undertaking. It takes planning, energy, and a fair bit of courage.
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And Kensington Palace was, hands down, one of the worst experiences we've had. But this is a story of success, and not failure . . .
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The building is beautiful and utterly useless. It's the opposite of sensibly laid out β actively hostile to anyone with sensory or additional needs. You're ushered from one space to the next and told, firmly, that there's no other way round it. No flexibility. No room to breathe. When you've got a child on the edge of a meltdown, being marched through a rigid one-way system with no escape route is about the worst thing you can do.
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And it got worse. People being told they couldn't bring their service dogs into certain areas. A total lack of care around allergies and food. Finicky, confusing navigation that would baffle the average person, let alone someone already overwhelmed.
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By the time we'd had our disastrous lunch - anyone who knows what a health threatening nightmare can be for venues that begrudgingly meet the law in a half arsed kinda way around food allergies knows exactly what I saying - the kids just wanted out. I felt overwhelmed, upset. This big, brave day out β had been a complete disaster.
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But that's the exact moment this post is actually about.
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Fact is; I am the one who sets the tone. I am the leader of this family, and my children take their vibration from mine. If I stay in that spiral of upset and disappointment, so do they. That's not pressure β it's power. It means I always have a choice about what happens next.
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So in that moment I chose. I thought 'f** that. We are having our wonderful day out' and said 'let's do this one last section, we'll give it fifteen minutes, and then we'll flounce out of this venue that we are far too cool for and find something better.' And we did exactly that.
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We went up to the King's Apartments and had the single best moment of our time there β someone dressed as Queen Charlotte swept through, a musician played, and they pulled the children right in. Aoife was crowned "Lady Aoife," which made Alice and me her humble servants carrying the bags 'oh you must be aristocracy' was the response when Aoife admitted she didn't 'do' anything. When I asked for some of the 'Korean popular music' be played on the harpsichord, the man played "Golden." The kids laughed; the Queen begrudgingly approved of the music choice over Bach. For a few minutes, it was magic.
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Then we left. It was before 2pm. Something I'd intended to fill a whole day, we were done with by early afternoon β and instead of forcing it, we walked away. Walking away, doesn't mean giving up. It means going in a different direction, but to the same destination.
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On the way up I'd clocked somewhere called Japan House, near the Tube station. I'd seen it come up before when I was looking into free things to do in London. So I said to the kids, let's just pop in on the way back and have a look.
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It was the best decision of the day.
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Calm. Beautiful. Laid out with real intention β every part of it designed to feel considered and gentle. There was a free library, an exhibition, and a festival display where each of the children made a wish and pinned it up. Aoife's personal highlight was the Japanese toilets, which had approximately one million buttons and became a recurring event she revisited, several times for a good 10 minutes each time lol, with great joy. We gawped at the expensive jewellery, and tried out the beautiful artists supplies. Then we went up for tea and dessert in the traditional Japanese restaurant, where every child tried something completely new and authentic β and chose something they loved. We dreamed about going to Japan ourselves and what we may enjoy there. Especially the fancy loos! The staff couldn't have done more to work with my kids and their needs. It wasn't cheap. It was absolutely worth every single penny.
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We spent as long there as we had in the palace. And then we chose, together, to head home before rush hour β because we've learned to check in as a family and ask: what do we actually want, what can our bodies handle, before we hit the point of no return. Alice can name it now. Dylan's still learning to spot it. Aoife isn't there yet. It's a fine balancing act, and it takes constant work. But it means everyone's needs get heard, and everyone gets a say. Everyone feels in control in a small way and their needs are met.
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We experienced something genuinely beautiful. Not because the bad thing didn't happen β it absolutely did β but because we made a choice about what that meant. I changed my vibration, my outlook and decided about what came next. We sought out joy and the Universe, as it always does when we make that choice, moved around us.
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I don't live in some serene, perfect life where I float about meditating all day. I'm a normal parent with normal stresses β and, honestly, a fair few more than most, because of my children's needs. My life is chaotic. What I practise isn't controlling the chaos, because none of us are ever in control of everything. It's riding it. Flowing with it. Choosing, again and again, how I meet it.
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That's the difference between rigid, ordered, patriarchal control β the white-knuckle grip that shatters the second life doesn't comply β and instead sitting in matriarchal flow. Acceptance. Love. The willingnessi to adapt.
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I can't control the day. I clearly can't control Kensington Palace lol. But I can always, always control myself. And that one thing changes everything. π€
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Kensington Palace Japan House London