When Will and I were going through a park on our way to lunch a couple of days ago, my tics noticed a leaf falling from a tree and called out “Pull the cord, leaf!” It fluttered to the ground but I continued to shout instructions into the treetops:

“Stay on the trees, leaves.”
“Don’t jump, leaves.”
“Hang on, leaves, Will’s coming to save you.”
“Leaves, I’ve told you not to give up on summer.”

Sadly they’re not listening and their crunch under my wheels is becoming increasingly loud.

Having a wheelchair makes my relationship with autumn a little different to how it was a couple of years ago. Rather than pulling twigs out of my hair I’ve been pulling them out of my front casters instead.

While my tics might not like leaves falling, and while autumn does have some practical drawbacks, I still love this time of year and the sights, smells and sounds it brings.