Welcome to autismDAD, a site about autism from a dad’s perspective.
My name is Dave Wiggins and in 2019 our eldest daughter Victoria was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Since then we as a family have been through every emotion, tackled officialdom and learnt what we can about the condition in order to do what all parents strive for – to give Victoria and her sister Emily the best life we possibly can.
This site was born in April 2022. After a few years of living with Victoria’s condition I began fundraising for a local charity event, but I didn’t just want to raise money – I wanted to raise awareness. Awareness of the condition that is autism. Awareness of the challenges we face on a daily basis. And awareness of the awesome help and support that is out there if you know where to look.
I started posting the #abcofautism on Facebook and was surprised at the number of people that read, commented and supported my daily ramblings. Many said I should turn this into a book or something but I wanted something more “alive” and so this website was born.
The blog will contain updates of our journey, anecdotes and information I hope you will find useful. Although this is very much about autism from a dad’s perspective I hope anyone with friends, family, colleagues or indeed themselves on the autism journey will gain something from my little corner of the internet. Like many I spent a lot of time reading articles and books on the subject of autism at the start of our journey but with hindsight realise that the facts, as accurate as they might be, don’t really cover the full story:
What is a meltdown?
Where do I go for help?
How much alcohol is too much…?!
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.
autismDAD