Hey there, it's Emily here from Mummel Road. You got two minutes? I bet you do. All I need is two minutes of your time each fortnight, why? I'm going to be dedicating this time to offering you tips, recommendations and advice to ensure that you can support your child in the very best way. I can't wait for this, let's do it. Today's topic is about connecting your child with their local community. We find when children do have a connection with something or someone in their local community, they're more encouraged to communicate, engage and flourish and learn new skills. These are all positives. Another term for connecting is advocating however, I feel the term advocating is a bit more of a professional or service provider term. The word connecting really implies exactly what I'm talking about today, making that great genuine connection between a child and their community. It's really important for you as a parent to understand your child's special interests, needs or strengths. When you understand this, you will be able to identify places, shops, businesses, or communities that can support your child in a meaningful way. When you find a business that is willing to make adjustments to their shop or their form of service, it is a terrific time to lean into that. We find when businesses are willing to make adjustments to cater for individuals on the autism spectrum, that there can be a terrific connection made. For your child. This may look like a business or it may look like a shop or a restaurant or a local coffee shop or even a cinema somewhere that is willing to say we can make these adjustments for your child to come into our area. That's fine. I really encourage you to find like minded people. And by like minded this can mean people that share similar interests or people that have a shared understanding of disabilities and understand that you can make somebody welcomed and make adjustments by modifying an environment. All of these things allow your child to communicate and connect with their local community. I hope this has been helpful. Catch you later. Thank you for two minutes of your time. Mumble Road is dedicated to creating a place of support and respect for all parents, particularly parents of children with additional needs. Keep an eye on my socials for the latest news. Remember, every road starts with small steps. I'm Emily from mumble road. Bye for now.