Dads in Demand (BFI and Beyond)

(Cue the star Wars theme tune) A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….. Yep it seems a long time ago when Tyler and I spent the day out running wild in London and enjoying the smells, sounds and sights. Your probably thinking, what’s this guy on, but when you have a child with ADHD/Autism and high sensory awareness, different smells and hearing can turn what is a good day, very ugly.

So starting the day was the same old routine, Tyler awakes at 06:00 and then wakes everybody else like the early morning rooster. Then in Military fashion it’s washing, brushing and dressing the 3x kids - Tyler (8), Louise (4) and Ethan (1).  It’s feeding time at the zoo for about 20 minutes while the kids moan and have tantrums over what food they want to eat. Then after packing the essentials Tyler and I jump into the car and leave the rest of the family behind to experience our Father and son day out.

We arrive at the car-park and then get ushered onto one of the two large coaches awaiting the excited passengers. The trip begins after a roll-call and everybody settles down for what could be a very, very long trip. A few hours later and a small rest-bite we finally arrive at London. Luckily for me the Nintendo DS and medication kept Tyler happy the entire journey.

The atmosphere on the coach was electric as everybody climbed off and headed towards the British Film Institute. We were quickly guided into the theatre and after a quick introduction watched many short movies made entirely from the hard working children and dads. This was fun and interesting to experience seeing a movie made entirely by my son on the big screen.

We then ventured into another area with refreshments and a photographer taking pictures of all the kids clutching a pretend OSCAR on the red carpet. After an exhaustive morning, I now had to be on full alert and monitor Tyler’s every move as we moved to the outside and allowed to venture around London.

It was a glorious day with the sun shining and everybody in high spirits. Tyler’s medication started to wear off as the ADHD took control. It’s now time to experience a rollercoaster ride running on foot around the sights of London. Goodbye BFI and hello London, as we started our two hour tour of the capital.

We ran along the side of the River Thames visiting the London Eye, past the Florence Nightingale Museum and onto the Lambeth Bridge. Not stopping for any breaks we then moved past the Museum of Garden History and back along the River Thames to cross the Westminster Bridge and take some pictures of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. This was going to be hard work and Tyler was enjoying the adrenalin rush of all the new sights and sounds. He loves the freedom and I was surprised at how well he was coping with the crowds.

After a pit-stop with snacks outside Westminster Abbey including Dean’s Yard we moved on to Westminster Cathedral and past the Tate Gallery. Everything was a blur as we ran past the Apollo showing the Wizard of Oz, past the homeless man urinating into the street gutter and past the police harassing young kids doing tricks on their skateboards.

Tyler being the one child obsessed with trains, only had one thing on his mind – The Train Station. We wandered past Victoria palace (Showing Billy Elliot) and entered the holy shrine of trains (Victoria Street Train station). Here Tyler stopped and inhaled the fumes and watched in awe as trains entered and left the station every 5 minutes. I rarely see Tyler’s emotions, but the look on his face was enough to know we had entered his own little paradise and I was there to witness it.

With the home straight in our sights, it was time to start heading back to the meeting point. Onto the underground and over to St Paul’s Cathedral, Cleopatra’s Needle and quick visit to the most important place of the day -  Sainsbury’s Supermarket. More food and drinks were purchased for the trip home and then back to meeting point and onto the coach. The day ended with us driving past the Queen’s back yard (Buckingham Palace). Another couple of hours on the Nintendo DS and we were back in the car-park and saying goodbye to our newly found friends. We strolled back into the house around 21:45 and then bombarded my wife with day’s events as they unfolded in glorious detail.

Many times I have taken Tyler to different events and amusement parks etc. and many times he has exploded with mega tantrums, running off, attacking me and other people. This was probably the first time we had a day without any unfortunate events and made the day feel more important.

Thank you for arranging a great day out and once again letting me experience what it’s like to go out and catch Tyler on a good day (Tyler on a good day is worth a million of Tyler’s bad days).