Ice cream man reunion

Boy Wonder settled late last night and woke up quite early. He seemed to be in an odd mood, more autistic than ADHD which is a sign that anxiety levels are growing. His fixations and obsessions become more obvious due to the impulsivity and attention deficit taking a side step and the rigidity taking over. At times like this Boy Wonder has quiet periods, only brief but quiet all the same ( this is very unusual!) Boy Wonder spent the morning setting up Cat Girl's dolls house, not playing with it just setting it up. Cat Girl played, Boy Wonder arranged. After lunch we went to get his hair cut. This would usually be a huge chore but the hairdresser is fantastic with him and ensures that no loose hair irritates his skin. He comes out in a rash otherwise and becomes very irritable. She also cuts his hair to his exact specification (this can't be easy!) and all with a smile. Unfortunately we had to go school shoes shopping today. The plimsolls were simple but buying school shoes that last more than a fortnight is practically impossible! Looks like we will be ordering Geox off of the Internet again! According to Boy Wonder these are the shoes that breathe (as quoted off of the advert) however the truth is that these shoes have thick rubber toes which stand up to repetitive wall kicking! The shopping trip was brief and doughnuts were purchased by Super Man for the ultimate bribery. We went to the Grandparents for a BBQ tea where Boy Wonder and Cat Girl met with their cousins. Cat Girl played with her two cousins of about the same age whilst Boy Wonder and the cousin who is the same age as him practiced at being teenagers. Boy Wonder heard the distance sound of the ice cream man and ran, cousins following after him. He tracked it down and we bought ice creams. This is the same ice cream man that comes onto our street at home. Boy Wonder hasn't seen him since returning from holiday so they had a catch up chat and he came away with a very large ice cream as did his cousins. It's not what you know ..... We came home and a very tired Cat Girl went to bed without fuss. Boy Wonder settled down with Mine Craft but is still wide awake and restless.....

Back to Reality!

Well, I have had a child free day today as I went to work! I got up early and thought that I would start early to finish early but that didn't happen. Boy Wonder and Cat Girl woke up as I left, still on Bulgarian time. Super Man was hoping for a lie in but this was not to be! Cat Girl was very excited about fetching the kittens from the Cattery and Boy Wonder jumped straight onto Mine Craft as soon as his eyes were open. We have never had to restrict computer games before because his attention span didn't allow for addiction but maybe this is something to be more aware of now that his ADHD is more controlled. Although at work I spent some time taking and receiving phone calls about Boy Wonder. One was with his Consultant Paediatrician about altering his ADHD medication to a longer acting one now that he appears to have taken to this type of medication without side affects. This will help with his school day and take away the problem of administering medication at school which they state is against procedure. Mmmmm..... The second call was to arrange for Boy Wonder to see the school Doctor so that she can write a report for his statutory assessment. I never knew that such a role existed before today! It makes me wonder sometimes if other parents seem to spend as much time at medical appointments and meetings as we do. Next month we have four scheduled appointments for Boy Wonder. Crazy really, it's a good job that I have a very understanding boss! It's a pity that the school attendance policy isn't as flexible! Do appointments lessen as the child gets older and more supported or do they increase as the number of professionals involved increases? I returned from work with pizza and we had tea. I got a full account of how the kittens had been after being collected from the Cattery and how Super Man had been teaching them (the children, not the kittens) how to be responsible! In particular, tidying up after themselves. I do this with them daily but because Daddy was 'in charge'today, it was seen by Boy Wonder as a new skill! This evening Boy Wonder sang to us a song that he had written and composed music to. He printed out the words for us and signed his autograph on them at the end. Very cute! Throughout the evening he complained of tummy ache and when it came to bedtime he was very upset and anxious and so ended up settling down, downstairs with me. This is something that he hasn't done for a while now but is a clear sign of raised anxiety. Wonderful :-)

The Journey Home

Breakfast was swift this morning as we had to leave the resort by 11am to get to the airport. The taxi option was certainly the best except for the cramped conditions of six passengers and luggage in a people carrier!  Once at the airport the staff were exceptional. We had a member of staff direct us through every part of the process which avoided all queues. Boy Wonder coped well because of this and before we knew it we were sat on the plane and settled. The flight itself was good, he kept himself entertained with electronic games, kinder eggs and a puzzle book. He also did his numerous trips to the toilet!  As the plane was coming in to land Boy Wonder's excitement started to bubble. He was singing songs from the musical Matilda which unfortunately consisted of the phrases 'I have suffered endless days in this jail' and 'there's no escaping this tragedy!' He didn't seem to see the problem with this. He became distracted by the plane lowering and realised that the engine out of his window was slowing ( he could see the fan). He felt that it was necessary to announce this and add in for good measure that we were going to crash! It was one of those times that I just couldn't shut him up ! I attempted reasoning with him by explaining that the engine was fine but he was having none of it. He stated that the engine was a lot faster before and it had definitely slowed down. He went on to ask what would happen if it stopped, would we crash and belly flop? My intervention was making it worse.... With huge relief we landed safely with no incident and was quickly escorted off of the plane . Passport control and luggage was fairly painless and the taxi was waiting. Boy Wonder was really high in mood now and was attempting to run off as we got out into the car park. We quickly shoved him into the taxi and let him sing and thrash around on the back seat to his heart's content.  It wasn't until later that I realised that Boy Wonder's medication would have a two hour extension on the day to stretch across, this wasn't going to happen and so therefore it was unlikely that he would calm any time soon. Luckily a two week deprivation of Mine Craft plugged the gap and after a late tea he played happily on this until he fell to sleep.

Banished Boy!!

The last day of the holiday before leaving tomorrow morning. Boy Wonder awoke late and full of energy that he couldn't contain. At breakfast he was up and down from the table like a yo yo. We managed to keep him still long enough to eat a slice of toast.

We had decided to go to a local town today to get the last of the gifts and to have a look around. Due to Boy Wonder's high and impulsive mood we caught a taxi rather than the bus. The little town was beautiful with shops and a harbour. Boy Wonder was really struggling with spacial awareness and keeping out of the way of cars so a tight grip was necessary. As there were only a few shops it didn't take long so we went down to the harbour with an ice cream. It was so hot that we had s drink at the beach cafe and got a taxi back to the complex.

Super Man took Boy Wonder and Cat Girl down to the pool as I packed, We then went to the aqua park for the final time . Boy Wonder had one of his 'cold' spells after about an hour and didn't go in again. Everyone except Cat Girl was a little fed up of water by now.
We came back to the apartment and had a break from the sun. I emailed Boy Wonder's Consultant Psychiatrist with an update before his appointment on Friday and the children were introduced to the good old 'Tom &Jerry' cartoons courtesy of Bulgarian tv.

We spent the final evening having tea and then played some arcade games. Boy Wonder had some fire crackers to use up which are little bits of stick that produce sparks and a crackling noise when you strike your foot over them. Numerous children had been playing with these during the course of the holiday without problem. However tonight had to be different. As Boy Wonder started striking them in a space away from seating, a lady became very animated in her response to them. We couldn't understand her but it seemed that she thought they were dangerous. Really !! We told Boy Wonder to move away from her and then a man did exactly the same thing! Boy Wonder was banished from the large patio area to the lower patio which was empty to finish them. The funny thing was that the children from the patio area followed Boy Wonder to get a closer look at what he was doing. We worked out that these people had either been hidden away for the last two weeks or it was their first night and therefore they would need to get over their irrational fear of fire crackers!

We returned to the apartment and had a fairly settled night which was a bonus!

Bulgarian snakes and a hole in the floor kinda day

An early start this morning enabled us to benefit from chocolate croissants, nice cake and cold milk! We then went off to meet the jeep for the safari.
To say this trip was merely a gap filler it was exceptional. A lot more off roading than on the previous trip and wow this man can drive! Boy Wonder shrieked with excitement as we dived into the dried out river bed, and out the other side! We spent a lot of time on two wheels and hanging onto the bench seats and roll bars. The slight problem here was that it wasn't our intention to heighten Boy Wonder's senses twice in a week, this trip had been sold to us as a 'sight seeing tour!' It certainly was that and much, much more.

We went through Bulgarian mountain villages, saw lots of different animals and creatures including a snake in the road. Boy Wonder was amazed by this and as we stopped on top of the mountain, he asked the guide what type it was? She said it was a Smoka but didn't know the English translation. Boy Wonder insisted that I googled it and wasn't taking no for an answer. We found out that it was Bulgarian for Grass snake much to his disappointment. I never thought that google would be required on top of a mountain but hey ho.
We stopped off for drinks at an ostrich farm which was very traditional. There were three ladies selling woollen socks which they sold to us with great skill to say it was 30+ degrees! Cat Girl made friends with a cat, Super Man fell off of an old metal framed seesaw which the three ladies found hilarious ( but of course we didn't laugh!) and Boy Wonder befriended a puppy that he attempted to train to 'sit.' I don't think the dog understood English so struggled with the command but Boy Wonder was determined and eventually managed it, albeit very briefly. We felt a little sorry for the puppy but happy for the distraction which meant that Boy Wonder had stopped talking at us about 'everything!'

We moved on to another place for lunch and was greeted by a gentleman handing us bread and dipping spices and salt. We were informed that this was a Bulgarian welcome tradition. Lunch was served alongside home made Brandy and a bottle of beer. They know how to treat their guests!
We had a look around the little museum of a traditional Bulgarian home and wine cellar before having a go at shooting with an air rifle at hanging plastic bottles. Boy Wonder was surprisingly good at this as was his Daddy and the Scottish man that was with us. It got a little competitive to say the least ! Unfortunately the hole in the ground toilets stole the show for Boy Wonder who was absolutely fascinated by such a concept.
The final part of the journey consisted of lots of talk about WWE wrestling as the Scottish lady made the very BIG mistake of telling Boy Wonder that she watched it with her Grandson. We attempted to move the conversation on and ended up getting back onto the snake subject, oh well!

After the jeep safari we went back into the complex for a drink. It was obvious that Boy Wonder was tetchy and anxious so we made this brief and returned to the apartment. After some down time he appeared to calm but his hyper/anxious mood re-escalated rapidly as we went for tea. If I said that he sat down for more than a minute during tea this would be exaggerating. He was up and down so frequently that he barely ate a thing. He did however attempt to flood the toilets by jamming the plug hole of the sink with tissue and leaving the tap on. But still with an ounce of control at this point, went back and rectified the situation.
We gave up tea as a bad job and went ten pin bowling. They were not equipped for children at all as they had no buffers and no ramp , all the balls were also heavy and their shoes were in adult sizes only. Therefore the children played with bare feet and a great deal of adult assistance that Boy Wonder would not accept and consequently lost!

Now those of you with autistic children will know that this combination of events is the perfect recipe for meltdown and some of you will be wondering why it hasn't happened already?! As parents of autistic children we will at times accept the inevitable and go through the motions of a meltdown because there isn't always a way back. This was one of those times. It was a case of peaking to come down and I wore a dress for the occasion! After wrenching him out of bowling and into a quiet area, I attempted reasoning. This didn't have any real affect except for moving him on to the next problem - no Minecraft on his iPhone. He demanded an immediate download which wasn't going to happen even if we felt the need as much as he did , because there wasn't a sufficient wifi connection.
I walked Boy Wonder back to the apartment, holding him by the wrist to prevent any running off. He was very anxious and flighty. Back in the safety net of the apartment he sat on the top bunk kicking his feet about, reciting the book 'Chimpanzees of Happy Town' his favourite feel good book. He wasn't safe on the top bunk so I suggested that he sleep next to me. With a period of firm hold 'hug ' he fell to sleep. It was very late!

The start of pre-school anxiety ......

A lazy morning this morning as Boy Wonder was complaining of tummy ache. It may be down to the food, water abroad thing but I'm not convinced. It is more likely to be the 'week before school starts' anxiety tummy. Super Man took him back to the apartment for a cool down whilst Cat Girl and I went to see the rep and booked a jeep safari trip for tomorrow in hope that it would suitably distract Boy Wonder from his anxiety build up. I also really struggle with this 'relaxing ' lark so welcomed the opportunity to do something ! We then went to the little shops and bought Super Man a new cap as his other was left on the off road trip.

After some cooling off time we went for lunch. The drinks were being served in plastic cups much to Boy Wonder's disgust. He said he would get glass ones when they came out and give us all one. I told him not to worry about it but he went off a bit later and came back with hot glasses straight out of the dishwasher and told us to use them. We thanked him but said that they were hot so we would stick with the plastic ones. He walked off into the dining area which was very busy. Unsure of where he was heading we gave him a couple of minutes and Super Man headed over to the desserts to get him. However, Boy Wonder had been upset by us not using the glasses and had consequently hid. Super Man found him crouched down at the end of the dessert table and brought him out. I spoke with Boy Wonder about us being worried about him when he hides. He said that we had made him angry so he sat down at his favourite place and sang his dolphin song to calm himself down. He stated that he knew that we were looking for him as Daddy had walked past him four times. I asked him why he didn't shout to Daddy and he said that he couldn't as he hadn't finished his song! On that note we headed off down to the beach to make sand sculptures.

Boy Wonder appeared a bit calmer this afternoon and we made a sand sculpture of a dolphin ( see the photo on the face book page). https://www.facebook.com/pages/Autism-The-Life-of-a-Superhero/559661697404852 However after a swim in the sea and practicing his ballet in the sea he wandered off down the beach and promptly wee'd on someone's sand castle! This was a very odd thing for Boy Wonder to do as he is very 'rule' led and will only usually wee in the toilet. However, he had gone a few yards down the beach and got out his tinky and wee 'd right in front of an astonished group of people! On this occasion the language barrier saved us from having to explain the unexplainable and even Boy Wonder didn't seem to know why he had done it, except that he needed a wee.

We went back for showers before going out to our favourite restaurant ( well worth the money too !) Boy Wonder has started chewing again today, the towels mainly but it is becoming very noticeable. I think my earlier suggestion of him becoming more anxious is probably correct, it may go someway to explaining the odd behaviour too. The baby talk in third person has also returned and the spacial awareness has regressed further.

The food at the restaurant was lovely and the kids had chocolate milkshake cocktails. It was at this point that Nanna told Boy Wonder her favourite riddle - What can go up a chimney down but can't go down a chimney up? I will let you work it out but needless to say that Boy Wonder didn't get it at all!

They went on the bouncy dinosaur before bed, an early night tonight as we have a big day tomorrow!  

Brotherly Love!

Once up and about we went to the pool and met with the off roading family for a splash about before they left for the airport. The boys played nicely for quite a while in and out of the pool so much so that we had a late lunch. We then said goodbye to the family and Boy Wonder proceeded to do a count down for when they would arrive home .

This afternoon Boy Wonder and Cat Girl attempted their first children's club which consisted of a pirate treasure hunt and a show in the evening. Boy Wonder was given explicit instruction to look after his sister but knowing that this was unlikely we were reassured that the staff would keep a close eye on her. They walked around the beach in search of treasure and ate their booty on the way back to the activity room. They were both very excited about the show in the evening so we went for an early tea. Boy Wonder went into 'actor' mode and the whole thing became very serious!

The show was good fun, the staff being very enthusiastic and very good with the children. The children were split into two teams to battle against each other. Boy Wonder was the head of his team and was very much in character! Cat Girl was participating and smiling but seemed a little overwhelmed. We signalled to Boy Wonder to check on her but he failed to respond to us as we wasn't part of the show!

At the end of the show all the children went back stage to change. Boy Wonder was one of the first back out. I asked him where Cat Girl was and he looked at me with puzzlement and said that he had forgotten all about her. I asked him to go and find her and bring her out to us. When Cat Girl came out she appeared happy but made it clear that Boy Wonder wouldn't have anything to do with her and she was being looked after by a big girl.

We came back to the apartment to settle down for the evening. We got a message from the off road family to say that they had arrived home safely. Boy Wonder was relieved by this as he had mentioned them a least hourly from the point of saying goodbye! I don't know what he thought could happen and wasn't going to ask him.

Bones on the Beach?

A late morning and a late breakfast was in order today. Afterwards I had a chat with the holiday rep about support at the airport on the way home, which would be in a few days. He had it all in hand but recommended another taxi as the trip to the airport during the day, picking up from other hotels would take up to two hours in the coach. This would be cut down to forty minutes in a taxi. We agreed that this would be the better option and was told a price that we should expect to pay locally.

We spent the day at the aqua park but this morning the water was cold so Boy Wonder and Cat Girl took some persuading to get in. We left for lunch, hoping that it would be warmer on our return.

At lunch time, Boy Wonder was getting more adventurous with his friend the toaster and made cheese on toast. This was quite an achievement as the cheese here is the rubber variety! However it looked impressive enough for Cat Girl to request a slice so off he went to make another.

The water was a lot warmer this afternoon so we all got in and had a swim, played on the slides and in the splash pool. We even attempted the outside gym in the afternoon heat! Boy Wonder had two further 'cold' episodes today where he further complained of having an all over headache and seeing silver flashes in his eyes. Again this lasted just a few minutes but seemed odd.

We went out of the complex to eat tonight. Boy Wonder chose a pork steak. The menu was set up so you ordered everything separately but Boy Wonder stated that he was only having pork steak and nothing else because the menu didn't say that he needed to order anything else! Luckily the pork steak was huge and he ate it all. Super Man removed the bone for him which Boy Wonder wanted to keep. We managed to persuade him that this wasn't a good idea and that maybe he could look for bones on the beach or something? Mmm.

The food was very nice and made a change. We then went back to the complex to meet our off road friends as this was their last night. Boy Wonder played with his little friend for quite a while, mainly with fire crackers which kept them both fascinated for ages!

Pedalo Power!!

Day three of sensory overload, Boy Wonder awakes on the ceiling! We spend the day on the beach and as per the holiday planner, schedule in an outing on a pedalo. The anticipation of this alone is enough to get Boy Wonder counting down the minutes and stressing as the
Pedalos were being taken out by others and would they ever return?! Of course we naturally know the answer to this but Boy Wonder struggles somewhat with problem solving so everything becomes a big deal to him that no amount of reasoning can destract him from.

The pedalo turned out to be our saving grace as pedalling out onto a calm sea gave the perfect opportunity to relax ( in the loosest sense of the word!) Boy Wonder enjoyed jumping into the sea and swimming about. His swimming is really coming on now, the sea building his strength in the water. After an hour of this we came back to dry land and had lunch.
Boy Wonder was clearly becoming bored with sand activities so we agreed a change to the planner and took them out to have a go on the electric scooters. The previous boredom had brought with it some skittish behaviour so we had a chat about being responsible for our actions and the art of joke telling which was NOT to kill them by repeating them over and over again! We agreed that three times was reasonable rather than twenty +.

There is a sense of satisfaction that comes with being able to communicate with Boy Wonder and know that he has processed what has been said. He has generally been very good with this over the summer holidays. The two things that severely impact on his processing and retention of information are anxiety and sensory overload.

The electric scooters were very nippy, the type with 3 wheels that you stand up on. Cat Girl thought they were hilarious and it took her all her strength to hang on whist giggling! Boy Wonder had a go by himself and was surprising very well controlled. We had no incidents or accidents so the activity went down as a success.

Before going back into the complex we went to a bar for drinks. We ( except for Boy Wonder) are getting very bored with the sameness of the food and whilst at this bar decided that we needed to try the food so have booked in for tomorrow night. The bar had been recommended by our off roading friends as they too are having food issues. It would be fair to say that the quality of the food is fine, it is more the pushing and shoving mentality and busyness, but hey ho.

This evening we went to the little arcade and Super Man and Boy Wonder had an air hockey battle that ended as a draw. They are both very competitive which was taken in good humour by Boy Wonder on this occasion!!

The off road family met us for a drink later and Boy Wonder and his new friend exchanged friendship stones. This is something that Boy Wonder has done on practically every holiday. He then lines them up on his windowsill at home. We encouraged them to exchange small pebbles as we were conscious of the baggage allowance!

Another late night after a busy but more settled day was the perfect recipe for a good night's sleep.

An Arist in the Midst of Overload!

The late night brought a late morning. We headed down for breakfast for the last sitting. Boy Wonder woke on a high and remained there for the day! He craved sugary foods throughout the day, trying to put sachets of sugar in his drinks and making every attempt to eat only cake and ice cream. At tea time we managed to get him to eat something reasonable but the rest of the day was hit and miss!

We spent the first part of the morning t shirt painting. Boy Wonder managed to keep himself together for this and used great skill in painting a car complete with tyre tracks and an oil spill! Cat Girl painted a pink cat with a little help from Super Man. They were all very proud of their work.

However, he was still struggling with sensory overload becoming very clingy and kissy. He kissed our arms randomly as we walked, ran off and hid with no real reason to do so and rubbed his face in clothes that were for sale in the little shopping arcade under the hotel. The head banging also came back into play, where he bangs his forehead hard with the base of his hand. We came back to the apartment for down time and had a chat with Boy Wonder about his behaviour. In the cool, calm environment of the room he appeared to process what we were saying and take on board that his behaviour was not acceptable. Outside of the room however, he was clearly struggling.

We spent the afternoon by the pool and Boy Wonder and Cat Girl swam and played in the water and the park to the side. He appeared a bit calmer at this point, maybe because he was expelling energy!
This evening we went to a restaurant. The wind blew hard and consequently blew a full glass of beer all over me. I wasn't impressed but the waiters instead of helping stood there and laughed. One took it a bit further and came up to me and laughed in my face as I went to dry off in the toilets. I was now the one struggling to contain my anger and Boy Wonder picked up on this and started to vent on my behalf! We finished our not very adequate food and left. An experience not really worthy of a mention!

We ended the evening outside of the complex in the bouncy jungle. They spent just over half an hour on there and came off exhausted. We had a couple of drinks at the complex on the way back to the apartment. Boy Wonder tipped a drink over his head to cool down which wasn't great as it was very sticky and then became fixated on going to the arcade even though this wasn't on his planner. We said no and suffered the consequences of him running off and climbing on various structures that really shouldn't be climbed!

We returned to the apartment and settled Boy Wonder and Cat Girl down for bed. Another long night is quite possible!

Sensory Overload!!

It is always very interesting how certain activities can exacerbate a condition such as autism / ADHD when senses are triggered. It's a bit like someone with a dairy intolerance having milk and getting stomach ache or someone with hay fever reacting to pollen. What am I rambling on about?!

Well, today we went off roading, stopping off for quad biking and horse riding and then over to a very beautiful beach with VERY choppy waves and red flag warnings. Boy Wonder is hypo sensitive to touch which means that he doesn't feel things to the extent that we would. A bear hug to him feels like light touch. We use firm hold technique to calm him as when he is anxious this hypo sensitivity worsens and not being able to feel whatever is under him or touching him as you can imagine would be a very insecure feeling. This doesn't help the anxiety so we use firm hold to 'ground' him.

So back to today, the off road was in an old Land rover with bench seats. It was a very rough ride through the Balkan Mountains, throwing us about and making us cling on for dear life at times! It was just how off roading should be. After about an hour of this, Boy Wonder was noticeably more high and erratic. He was very giddy and struggled more and more to process as the day went on. The horse riding and quad bikes added to the sensory overload as did the brief spell on the beach where he ran straight into the waves over and over again until it was time to leave.

Boy Wonder absolutely loves these sort of activities as he gets to experience his physical sense, however learning to cope with it is a whole new matter. As part of his programme of activities at home he has massage therapy in an attempt to help manage this which I have spoke about before.
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day but it made us very tired and less well equipped to manage Boy Wonder's high 'wild child' mood.

Boy Wonder and Cat Girl made a friend on the trip, a little boy who came with his Dad. Boy Wonder took it upon himself to look after him and play with him. This was lovely to see however it did require an explanation to the boy's very understanding Dad why Boy Wonder's games and stories always resulted in death and destruction! Later in the evening we met the rest of the family in the arcade bar and the children had their electronic games fix.

Boy Wonder took some settling tonight as his mind and voice was racing ten to the dozen!!

The Bulgarian Way ....

Last night took an unexpected turn as Cat Girl was sick throughout the night. It was very impressive sick mind you and travelled all over the bed and beyond! This meant that she was unable to participate in a great deal today so we opted for a lazy day on the beach.

Throughout the morning Cat Girl lay on a sun bed, cap over her face and a towel over her body to shield her from the sun. Boy Wonder who usually panics when people are ill, thinking that they will die, showed little anxiety and went to play in the sea. He and Super Man swam quite far out as there was a shallow area there where you could see crabs, jelly fish, snails, fish and such like. He was fascinated by this and hatched a plan to try and capture them in his bucket!

Deep holes dug in the sand and a pebble cat made for Cat Girl, we went off for lunch. Cat Girl didn't look too impressive so I took her back to the apartment via the chemist and she relaxed there for the afternoon and thats when the 'D' part of 'D&V' kicked in. Boy Wonder and Super Man went back to the beach and tried out Boy Wonder's plan to catch fish. The later report suggested that this wasn't successful, however he did plenty of diving for fossils and found one sea snail.

In the evening we ventured out of the complex and into the array of shops and small collection of fair type attractions. Boy Wonder went on the harnessed trampoline and with the local man who ran the ride, he jumped higher than ever as the man pulled him down and let him fly! It's a good job that Boy Wonder has no sense of fear as he squealed with delight, bouncing 10ft or more into the air.

After a bit of sensory overload and the biggest candy floss that I had ever seen, Boy Wonder and Cat Girl went on Hook a Duck, Bulgarian style. 9 ducks later and they still came away with tat, however it took Boy Wonder a very long time to choose his as there was so much to pick from. He eliminated toy weapons as he said he can't take them home through airport security ( I wasn't going to argue!) He finally decided on a large popper ( that we later found out didn't pop!) Cat Girl came away with the usual teddy.

We decided to go back to the apartment early tonight as we have an off road trip in the mountains  tomorrow. On the way back, Boy Wonder became quite agitated. His proccessing ability had diminished somewhat and his spacial awareness was shocking! The latter has been quite a problem since we arrived but this particular walk back was very noticable. He said that he was upset because Cat Girl was ill and that the trip might be cancelled tomorrow. He also stated that she was getting more care than him and that we weren't bothered about him having a headache. I explained that we were concerned but he hadn't said that he had a headache to which he replied that he didn't think that he needed to tell us because we should know!

We reassured both Boy Wonder and Cat Girl that the trip would go ahead tomorrow as planned, dosed Cat Girl up on Imodium and crossed our finger and toes!

Sliding and Zorbing

Cat Girl took it upon herself to ask everyone if they wanted to go to the aqua park again, nobody could resist her persuasion so off we went. It is getting hotter each day and the water now feels warm.
Boy Wonder and Cat Girl spent the morning in the splash pool with just the two 'cold' episodes from Boy Wonder. He is now experiencing head aches with them on the right side which is a little concerning, either a dull ache or like he has been hit on the head ( as he described it) lasting between 5-10 minutes.

We went for lunch do that Boy Wonder could spend a bit of time with the toaster and then returned to the aqua park to go on the water slides. Boy Wonder was quite miffed that he couldn't go on two of the slides as he was too small. Super Man and I tried them out to see what all the height restriction fuss was about. Jeez they were so bad they made us swear!! Luckily hardly anyone could understand what we were saying! We explained to Boy Wonder that on this occasion the restrictions were appropriate as he didn't seem to gage this from our reaction!
On the way back to the splash pool, Boy Wonder went very cold again and said that he had a headache like he had been hit at the side of the head. He stayed out of the water for some time on this occasion.

This evening we had booked a table in one of the restaurants. This particular one was a traditional Bulgarian restaurant with a set menu of 5 courses and no children's options. However Boy Wonder really took to the experience and tried everything. We were very impressed. He even encouraged Cat Girl to do the same and she did okay. The menu consisted of a soft cheese salad, bean soup, rice in vine leaf, potato cakes, pork and fries and pink biscuit cake. It made a nice change from the madness of the buffet restaurant.

After the restaurant Boy Wonder and Cat Girl went 'zorbing' on the pool. This consisted of getting into a big inflatable ball and rolling around the swimming pool. A bit claustrophobic for my liking but they love it and it expels energy! Boy Wonder spent the entire time singing 'Kumbayar My Lord' whilst in his Zorb but these things are very sound proof so we didn't hear a thing! There was also a bouncy castle and trampoline and we agreed that they could pick one activity each evening to spread the cost. Cat Girl understood this, Boy Wonder didn't! This resulted in a lengthily discussion involving calculation and currency conversion to illustrate the point. He then got it.
We ended the evening at the arcade bar, all chilled and settled.

Hey Ho Swashbuckle and Go...

The first evening's entertainment consisted of a large, high ceiling hall with a stage at one end, costumes to one side, entertainers scattered around the floor and a stall selling light sabres and such like. It was very hot, very busy and very loud! As you can probably imagine, this description sounds like exactly the sort of place we should avoid, however Boy Wonder insisted that he needed to try it out. He joined the other children and got dressed up to go on stage and perform a song, Cat Girl thought better of it! Dressed as a Power Ranger, Boy Wonder danced to 'The Music Man.' Before you start visualising this, please note that the Bulgarian 's don't have the first clue about the actions for this song so as a consequence the children were doing a whole host of random movements!
After the mini performance, Boy Wonder got changed and started insisting on needing a lazer pen. His mood was somewhat fraught and the mere suggestion of a no was enough to send him over the edge = first melt down of the holiday.
We walked him through the crowd and luckily the shouting and thrashing was enough for the otherwise very ignorant crowd to get out of his way and let us through. Once outside the crying and shouting continued for some time. Boy Wonder was unable to process anything that I said to him, it was just a case of riding it out.
Now is probably the ideal time to distinguish between a tantrum and a melt down. A tantrum being when a child acts out because something doesn't go their way. They remain in control of their behaviour and can self calm when the time is right, I.e when a compromise has been reached or they have accepted 'no' for an answer. Tantrums can be equally difficult at times but the child learns from them and what their behaviour brings , for example - will the adult give in or won't they?
A meltdown is where a child is overloaded with stimuli I.e noise, crowded environment, to much going on and it cannot be filtered out. They will then explode in anger because they can no longer cope and at this point there is no reasoning or reassurance that can stop this. It then takes a while for the child to regain control and to calm. The child is unlikely to learn from this as it is beyond their control, however coping strategies can be learnt over time to prevent them getting to melt down.
lesson over !!;-)
Once Boy Wonder started to come down we had a chat about busy places, 'I want' demands and his favourite subject (other than death) money. At this point, I had got us completely lost so this diverted him into 'tour guide' mode and he navigated us back to the apartment!
After what seemed to take forever, Boy Wonder fell to sleep. He slept through and was last to wake at 9am.
The new day brought a few hours at the Aqua Park. Apart from the water being cold, it was a fantastic place, lots of slides, pools and a fun splash. After one go on each slide Boy Wonder stated that he had finished with them and after using the mini gym he spent the rest of the time in the splash pool with Cat Girl. At one point he insisted that he should have the 'fishy feet' treatment where fish nibble dry skin from your feet, but we managed to convince him that they bred bacteria and that this really wasn't a good idea. Yuk!
During the day, Boy Wonder had a further two, possibly three of his 'cold' episodes. The middle one was very slight with a quick recovery so we thought that maybe Boy Wonder was a bit worried so notified us every time he felt cold. Nanna said that she had seen him staring into space on one occasion and appear unresponsive for a short while when she called him, he then started shivering.
We tried out the arcade area in the evening. It had a few games, a couple of little shops ( where Cat Girl had her hair braided the day before), pool table, air hockey and a nicer bar lounge. Boy Wonder and Super Man played pool whilst Cat Girl thrashed me at air hockey, quite feisty for a little one! We sat and discussed what we will do tomorrow and decided on a boat trip to the local fishing village.
On the way back to the apartment, Boy Wonder asked lots of questions about tomorrow's trip. 'Will I have to fish?' 'Can I buy a rod?' ' Is it just fish there?' After reassuring him that it was a little town who's main industry was fishing ( and tourism) but it wasn't something that we did when we got there, he seemed to get it.
Up bright and early(ish) for our boat trip. Breakfast eaten, toast machine over used. We set off to the jetty to wait for the boat. As the boat came closer it became apparent that there was a joker on board dressed as a pirate. A local man that really enjoys his work, showing us photos of his fishing highlights, displaying his Bruce Lee artwork right across his chest and attempting multi language humour. Boy Wonder responded by singing the swashbuckle song over and over whilst we went on our way.
Nassiber ( the fishing village) was beautiful with a nice harbour and a collection of little trinket shops, small parks and fish restaurants. It wasn't too busy and seemed perfectly set out to break up the mundane shopping experience for Boy Wonder. He became a little fixated on the vast range of weapons available for sale, firstly the sheer ore of them and then the legalities! Cat Girl soon distracted him by involving him in a search for a black and white cat. She is missing Sooty ( her kitten) terribly so much so that we have had tears on two occasions. Boy Wonder went into big brother mode and scoured around until he found her a silver cat on a chain which although not black and white she did love.
Later in the day we walked over to Sunny Beach and stopped at a bar on the sea front. We had to walk past a closed fairground to get there but the draw of a huge water slide at the other end helped us out. Boy Wonder desperately wanted to go on the slide but he was told he must have a drink first. He explained that he just couldn't look at it as he couldn't bear it! He went over with Super Man and got 10 goes for 5lv. It was quite cold but he enjoyed it. The man offered him a further 5 goes for free which he had a couple more goes and came off.
We caught the little train back to the harbour and boarded the boat to go back to the complex. Boy Wonder spoke to Grandad all the way back about the Titanic and how and why it sunk. A very fitting topic. We arrived back and went straight for tea and a few games in the arcade before bed.
An interesting point of today (well to me anyway ) was that Boy Wonder had no 'cold' episodes and equally there was very little water activity.
He seems to be settling into the holiday well, now that he has got his bearings. There is little anxiety, just the occasional tummy ache but that could be down to the change in diet. This is possibly the first holiday where he has settled more or less straight in without too much anxiety and hyperactive / impulsiveness. We are under no illusions with this, it is clearly down to his medication and not any miracle cure or 'growing out of it' possibility. You will hopefully come to understand why we say this when you start to read the going back to school blogs. This is when the anxiety is at full throttle and much needed support is required. But anyway, the holiday continues .......

Rollercoaster ride!!

Internet access appears to be a novelty in Bulgaria hence the lack of blogs! However, I continue to write off line so that when this is eventually posted, you can almost have a novel to read. Day two of the holiday has come to an end and so far not many dramas. The airport was an experience and in hindsight the special needs support may have been better in a larger airport, however, Doncaster did okay. We bypassed some queues and were  given time to get off of the plane and away before being caught in the rush. Boy Wonder was fascinated by the security at the airport and to put it into practice, carried a small green plastic gun in his pocket and a compass. He took great delight in putting these into the tray to be checked. The ultimate show was Grandad being searched due to false knees setting off the alarms!

I expected Boy Wonder to be a lot more anxious/ high during the flying experience than he was. Apart from going to the toilet several times on the flight, he was quite settled until it came to landing. At this point we had been moved to the front to be taken off of the plane first. He sat in his new seat , rocking swiftly backwards and forwards shouting 'We're on a roller coaster and its going to belly flop!' Over and over again. The cabin hostesses thought this was hilarious but it was soon apparent that we were sat around a number of nervous flyers. Oh dear....

We arrived at the complex quite late, but had taken a taxi instead of getting on the coach ( this would have been too much after the excitement of the airport!) after being shown to our apartment we went straight to bed. 

The first real day of the holiday begins and we get up late and attempt to find our bearings to go for breakfast. Luckily Super Man has a sense of direction and we get to the breakfast area and grab something to eat before it finishes . Boy Wonder is happy as we are sat next to the toaster, the type that you feed the bread in one end and it goes along a conveyor belt and spits it out at the other. He loves these and will happily make toast until redirected! 

The beach is just in front of the apartments so we nip to the beach shop for some tools - buckets and spades and inflatables and head down there. It is very hot so we go into the sea. Cat Girl goes in her pink rubber ring and Boy Wonder has his body board. The sea is fairly shallow for quite a way out but very rocky under foot.  After about half an hour of play, Boy Wonder goes very cold and shivery, around his lips turn blue and he looses colour in his face. I take him out of the sea and wrap him in a towel to warm up.  This isn't uncommon for Boy Wonder but hasn't happened a lot recently. We were hoping that swimming lessons and building up his time and excursion in water would sort this problem out. However, throughout the day it happens two more times and on speaking with Boy Wonder he says that he suddenly goes very cold and struggles to speak. We don't know why this happens and he has had ECG's under exercise to see if it is a heart or breathing difficulty, but no. All that we do know is that it happens around water and exercise and can lead to drop seizures.  

We go back to the apartment and change for the evening. I wonder what the Bulgarian night life will bring :-)

High and happy!!

Is it possible for Boy Wonder to get any more hyper? Absolutely, of course it is!! I think he actually 'slept' on the ceiling last night as apposed to climbing back up there this morning. And although he is demanding endless energy and direction from us, it is wonderful! We wait such a long time to have our hyper happy child. The child that only surfaces in the holidays when anxiety is at a minimum. So although we are starting to look like sleep deprived zombies, I don't care, because he is happy and in turn Cat Girl is happy too as Boy Wonder is letting her be.

We can thank the pending holiday for the additional excitement in camp. Today I prepare Boy Wonder's visual for the journey and airport system and we go through it in great detail. He is also reassured that he has an assistant at the airport ( and secretly we hope and pray that this works as it should!) and finally I think we are ready to go!

Today is spent at holiday club and a trip to MacDonalds for tea. The day passes with little anxiety, just a very giddy boy. He is still up watching England play football and shows no sign of slowing. At least he can have a lie in in the morning as we aren't leaving until the afternoon.

I will attempt to blog whilst away as have some Internet facility, but it may not be daily. Take care all and enjoy the rest of the summer :-)

The Black and White Days!

The giddiness continues this morning as Boy Wonder gets himself up and immediately starts bouncing off of the walls. There is no opportunity for conversation this morning or indeed anything remotely constructive so we switch to immediate and necessary mode and hope for the best!

Boy Wonder attended his last holiday session with Group Inspire today, they went to a local railway centre. The staff were given the heads up on his high mood and head bump from yesterday that looks even more impressive today! Boy Wonder seemed to enjoy the trip but only spoke about a man making a fire to burn rubbish, nothing about trains at all! However he did come home with an old train magazine that had pictures of 'the black and white days when Grandad was a boy,' in it. This was a present for Grandad because he likes trains and lived when everything was black and white!

Boy Wonder attended Jiu Jitsu and squad tonight and signed himself up for the tournament in November. He is very good at ground fighting so will look forward to watching him. He then insisted that Cat Girl is signed up for Sumo. Although she appears to have a talent for this technique, I explained that we would need to ask her first! This is the first thing that he is going to do tomorrow.

Boy Wonder insisted on buying a cap for himself and Cat Girl from Jiu Jitsu and agreed to have his photo taken in it whilst on holiday for their website page 'Jiu Jitsu on Tour!'

On the way home we had a discussion about 'cats eyes' in the road. 'Are they real cats eyes?'
' If not, why are they called that ?' ' If I shone a light in my cat's eyes, would I blind him?' And so it went on!

At home, Boy Wonder was encouraged to settle down in hope that he would fall to sleep some time before midnight!

Getting Giddier.....

A very unsettled Boy Wonder last night resulted in two tired children this morning. Today, Boy Wonder is at holiday club. He drags his feet this morning and clearly is not feeling happy about going.  He has either lost interest after last week's upset or is distracted by the pending holiday.

It transpired as the day went on that I was inaccurate in my description of Boy Wonder's mood.  On collecting him from holiday club, the staff inform me that he has disclosed watching 'naughties' on You Tube involving snogging. He has also become very vocal and pushing the boundaries. The latter is likely to be a reaction to Friday and him trying to reconfirm boundaries, however the first matter will require further investigation! Before leaving, I sign an accident form where he has been hit around the head with a tennis racket. Quite a nasty bruise that required a cold compress and 10 minutes rest, although according to Boy Wonder it was actually 5 minutes!

I took Boy Wonder for his swimming lesson and informed his instructor of his bruised head before the lesson started. She kept a closer eye on him but he was fine. A lot of good swimming today, back stroke and skulling mainly.

This evening Super Man and I went through Boy Wonder's search history on his lap top. 'Snogging' had indeed slipped through the parental control in place and the videos were not ideal. We decided that we would attempt consequence again and explained to him that the lap top would be removed until after the holiday as it requires a reset. Boy Wonder seemed to understand this and said sorry.

An early night is in order tonight to catch up on missed sleep. The holiday excitement is building and both Boy Wonder and Cat Girl are getting giddier!!

Not dippy enough!!

We decided that today would be spent around the house getting the last of the packing done for the holiday, tidying bedrooms and some baking.

Boy Wonder insisted that he needed to make a riot shield before he did anything else! I think this was on the back of the Belfast riots that he saw on the news yesterday, ( just in case.) Shield complete, we commenced the big tidy!! Boy Wonder helped with particular jobs such as lining his weapons up underneath his bed, including the new addition of the riot shield. He then hoovered his room and made a very good job of it. He does love Henry!

For lunch, Boy Wonder made a request for dippy egg and soldiers. It had to be just right and took 4 attempts! Egg mayo sandwiches for Super Man it is then! After lunch, Boy Wonder helped Super Man to fix his tree house roof which needed refelting after the stormy weather. He loves helping with these 'big boy' jobs.

Later Super Man took Boy Wonder and Cat Girl to the skate/ scooter park whilst I tackled the washing, ironing and labelling of school uniforms.  Cat Girl starts school in September which is very daunting. (It didn't hit me till I started getting her uniform ready.). It makes it a little more tricky as she is going to the same school as Boy Wonder . For most I would assume that an older sibling in school is a great reassurance, however I am not feeling it with Boy Wonder. My gut instinct tells me that it is likely to go wrong very quickly, especially if the introduction days are anything to go by! ( Boy Wonder set up a very intricate surveillance operation to ensure that Cat Girl didn't break any of the 'Golden Rules!' )

Boy Wonder's uniform drawer replenished much to his dismay, we are ready to go! Boy Wonder spent a great deal of time last term disposing of his uniform either by chewing holes in it, cutting it with scissors or by throwing it away. It is very likely that this new set will meet the same fate!

This evening, Boy Wonder plays wrestling with his friend  in the conservatory. Another fairly settled day all in all.

Let there be Pirates!!

The day started with a trip to a Summer Festival where there was a fancy dress competition for the best dressed pirate. Boy Wonder and Cat Girl obliged by dressing up, complete with face paint and eye patches and then off we went.

The festival had a variety of activities including meditation drumming, Gulivers Kingdom activity sessions , pirate games and stalls. We started with drumming which Boy Wonder really enjoyed.The rhythm of the drums and the smooth texture really relaxed him.   We moved onto the pirate games where they won lots of different bits and bobs, including 'dead mans fingers'' and loot . They won the 1st prize in the fancy dress competition ( mainly because they were the only two that had made a real effort!) Boy Wonder then found the tombola table! He gets particularly fixated on these sorts of games and it is often a battle getting him away. He won body lotion,  stockings, some rather inappropriate ( but funny) adult birthday cards and a beautiful handbag. Cat Girl came away with a teddy and a DVD, a little more useful! After teasing him away with a bit more drumming we moved to the stalls where Boy Wonder found a lady who made jewellery. He insisted on having a bracelet made for his little girl friend. The lady had many little plastic diamonds dressing her table and whilst waiting, Boy Wonder started to collect them, asking her if they were real? 'Of course' she said. Boy Wonder asked her where she got them from and she said ' the pirates!' This led to many more questions and eventually an explanation that she was joking. It is hard work sometimes!

The afternoon and evening was spent playing at home and watching 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.' Boy Wonder sat quietly with mouth wide open through most if it, especially the battle scene at the end.

There was no mention of the upset of yesterday. Boy Wonder does seem to be a lot more resilient at the moment due to the reduced anxieties that school holidays bring. We will enjoy the moment !!

Super Man to the Rescue

A little delay in posting as something unusual happened last night, I went out!! And not just anywhere but high wiring and lazer quest with the girls for a good friend 's hen night. Something I think that we could do for Boy Wonder's ( adrenalin junky's) pending birthday. 

Anyway, yesterday started on a high as Boy Wonder's oldest friend (called this by Boy Wonder as he was his first friend from nursery.) was also going to holiday club. Once out of bed he rushed through his morning routine to get there as quickly as possible.  However on arrival, Boy Wonder was told by the staff ' Don't shout at me, it's not my fault but your friend isn't coming, his days have been mixed up.' At that moment, Boy Wonder's eyes filled with tears and he went off to take his bag and jacket to his peg. This day had been built up all week and was shot down in a second and for the first time in a long time I didn't know what to do. I went to talk to Boy Wonder as he was hanging up his things. He told me that he was fine but wouldn't engage further. Wiping the tears away he went to play with the Lego.  I spoke to the staff about possible repercussions and to ring me if needed and left. 

I spoke to Super man on the way to work who said that he would pick him up straight after work as he finishes early on a Friday or earlier if needed and take him out for a pizza and a funky haircut. I felt better for this as I had a meeting that I couldn't get out of and the earlier mentioned Hen night. 

To attempt to salvage things further, I spoke with the Mummy of the 'oldest friend' and we arranged a play date for the end of the holidays. I went to work ....

Important meeting out of the way, I rang holiday club to be told that he was absolutely fine. Not convinced by this and thinking that Boy Wonder is holding it in till he gets home, I updated Super man and carried on my day. 

On collection of Boy Wonder and completion of funky haircut and pizza, Super Man texted to say that Boy Wonder appeared to have been distracted from a blow out and appeared quite happy. Reassured by this but still half expecting a delayed reaction, I picked up the girls for our high wiring activity! 

On arrival home (quite late) Super man told me of the intricate design and intense questioning to complete this design that the poor hairdresser had to endure, albeit in very good spirit, to give Boy Wonder the funky hair cut that he desired. After this they went to the pizza take away and whilst waiting their order were entertained by numerous blue lights and police officers at the pub across the road due to ' big boys being silly when they have been drinking alcohol!)

 This combination of events may have provided the perfect distraction for Boy Wonder but today will tell.... 

A bit of 'Salt n Shake!'

Last night remained settled as a rather pale looking Boy Wonder played Mario Kart until he fell to sleep. After what seemed like a reasonable nights sleep, all ailments had disappeared and he regained his position back on the ceiling! 

We spent the morning around the house attempting to pack for the holiday and get ready for the day. Boy Wonder flitted from activity to activity, getting more and more hyper.  He attempted to train his kitten how to fetch, ( not very successful!) play wrestling and go outside on the swing and trampoline. Within ten minutes and all activities complete,  Boy Wonder complained of being bored. Cat Girl tried to involve him in her game with the kittens and this held his attention for a short while. 

Around lunch time we dropped Boy Wonder off at Group Inspire for Splash Play whilst Cat Girl and I went holiday clothes shopping. Cat Girl asked if she could go to Group Inspire one day? I explained that the group is for kids with disabilities and additional needs so probably not. She responded by asking if Boy Wonder having Autism meant that he could go? I said yes it does because he needs help with playing with others, his worries and getting angry. 'Yes, he is very special isn't he?!' Cat Girl replied. This little girl is wise beyond her years! 

We enjoyed  a couple of hours shopping, something that is an impossible task with Boy Wonder but a pleasure with Cat Girl. She was very pleased with her purchases which included a beautiful dress with cats on it! We struggled to find summer clothes in the midst of the new autumn range but got just enough to see us through a couple of weeks in the sun.  We went to our favourite sweet shop to buy 'letters' as we always do and went to fetch Boy Wonder.

He had, had a fabulous time, crowned as 'Super soaker King!'  We thanked the group and left for our next activity, the park with my sister and her girls.  It always amazes me that when Boy Wonder is with his female cousin of the same age, he is calm and fairly settled.  They sit on the play equipment talking like mini teenagers and then run round for a little while, back to sitting and finally a game of crazy(ish) golf. Boy Wonder makes little fuss when it is time to leave and even shares his sweets with his cousin whilst in the car. ( Or maybe they were Cat Girl's but either way the gesture was there!) 

This evening Boy Wonder went to Kobudo as he missed last night. Super Man is set the challenge by Boy Wonder to find him some Salt 'n'Shake crisps. He is convinced that they are a new invention and that we didn't have them when we were kids! On return home, laiden with the new invention, Boy Wonder announces that Super Man is the best daddy in the world as he has managed to track down these crisps. Both boys are very happy. Boy Wonder goes to bed and plays Cbeebies games before going to sleep. After playing the same game for approximately an hour I give him a five minute warning to turn it off.   Here's hoping for another settled night! 

Under the Weather

It took a while for Boy Wonder to settle last night. He became engrossed in talking about bodily functions, namely the benefits and the inconveniences of going to the toilet. It really is quite amazing how long this subject can be 'discussed,' without the author becoming bored. 'Discussed' is another one of those terms that we use loosely as very often there is no discussion, it is more being talked at rather than being talked to.

This morning Boy Wonder woke and complained of the right side of his Adam's Apple hurting and also his bladder.  He is one of those children that has 'altered pain threshold' written in his medical notes due to sustaining injuries and not being aware of them and not being able to communicate discomfort particularly well.   Historically he has broken bones and just stopped using them. No tears, no acknowledgement of the injury. More recently he put his tooth through his tongue whilst on the trampoline. With a mouthful of blood and looking like a scene from Dracula , I rushed to his aid. Boy Wonder asked me what was wrong and I had to point out that he was dripping with blood! Anyway back to this morning. Boy Wonder looked a bit warm and under the weather. He attempted to tell me specifics of any discomfort that he was feeling but really struggled. He became bogged down with when if hurt, how long for.... I gave him some paracetamol and he went to Holiday Club hoping that this would distract from the symptoms.

I explained to the staff that Boy Wonder may be unwell and if they were at all worried to ring me. I asked them not to rely on Boy Wonder telling them anything.   I rang at dinner time and was told that he appeared fine. When I picked him up, he was complaining of a headache and bladder ache. 

We missed Kubudo tonight as Boy Wonder doesn't look too great and went to Auntie and cousins for a little while instead. 

All is quiet (ish) this evening, ssshhhh

Have you anything to declare?

Boy Wonder did indeed settle at a reasonable hour last night.  I would hazard a guess that exhaustion took hold, unless that was just me so I didn't notice the time that he fell to sleep! However, come morning time, Boy Wonder was up and at it bright and reasonably early!

Boy Wonder went to Holiday Club today. We packed the car with what we needed, this included a variety of replica weapons that he uses in Kobudo ( sword, sai, nunchaku.) It always makes me wonder what the Police would say if ever I got pulled up, hopefully I will never find out! On arrival at Holiday Club Boy Wonder finds out that the theme for the week is 'Food From Around the World,' He opts for Lego. 

When picking Boy Wonder up after work he is in the playground scooting. The staff observing the children comes to greet me, sign out medication and tell me how wonderful  he has been. At this point I observe Boy Wonder throw a ball hard into a little boy's back and  then call him an idiot ( at least it wasn't 'cock!') I mentioned the altercation to the staff member in case the boy was hurt, to which she replied that the other boy had been trying to wind Boy Wonder up all afternoon so she wasn't surprised and not to worry. ( it will become evident over time that Boy Wonder is seen as a 'butter wouldn't melt' kind of child. We completely understand that due to his condition he gets himself in tangles and often misreads situations but we also try to ensure that matters are explained to him so that he can try and learn from them. Others however often prefer the protect, protect route!)

On the way to Jiu Jitsu/ Kobudo Boy Wonder decides to play at being a Sat Nav. For 30 continuous minutes he parrots off phrases such as ' in 300 yards turn left' and ' at the next roundabout take the third exit.' He uses the navigation system in the car to prompt his next instruction. On the longer roads he proceeds to comment on my speed, proximity to other cars and other equally annoying facts to fill in the gaps! 

With a sigh of relief I drop him off at Jiu Jitsu and pick Cat Girl up from her session. I spoke to Sensi about the next Kobudo weapon that we need to order ( hoping for something small and discreet.) He announced that it is a 5ft bow! Wonderful I say. 

Later in the evening, Super Man decides to sort out travel insurance for the holiday. There are thousands to choose from initially, then he adds Boy Wonder's list of  diagnosis and treatment. That made if much easier, now there are twelve to choose from and a little price hike as a bonus! It really does amuse me as to what they think a 7 year old autistic kid is capable of!! 

Boy Wonder returns from his class and joins me in the bathroom where I am having a bath to tell me what a number 1 and number 2 means. He says it is a lot more polite to call them this rather than wee and pooh! It's going to be a lively night again I feel!

Dangerous Rabbits, BEWARE!!

This morning awoke a very, very hyper boy. Pretty amazing really as to where the energy comes from as his sleep last night was restless to the point of non existent. Boy Wonder was incapable of listening to anything I said, so I reduced the wordiness, keeping essential instructions brief and forgot about the less important stuff. 

We managed the morning routine whilst he ran from room to room and then attempted breakfast as he darted around the house. At this point going to work seemed very appealing although it was with mixed thoughts as to whether Boy Wonder was in any state to go to Group Inspire. I took my chances, after all the group are very experienced. I kept the phone close to hand! 

After work I met Boy Wonder and Cat Girl at home with Grandad and all appeared fairly settled. Grandad reported that Boy Wonder's hyperactivity had continued right up until getting him on the Group Inspire bus for the Zoolab trip. On picking him up, his presentation wasn't dissimilar to that of the morning! Poor Grandad! 

On the way to Boy Wonder's swimming lesson I asked him if he had enjoyed the Zoolab activity? He stated that they wasn't allowed to handle the rabbits due to safety restrictions but was allowed to handle snakes and lizards .  Maybe this was Boy Wonder's fragmented thinking and interpretation of events but surely that was meant to be the other way around? I couldn't resist questioning Boy Wonder on this to which he gave me a 'How dare you not believe me look' and explained that the corn snakes don't live in Britian and they don't eat people so they are safe but the rabbits have sharp claws! Of course . 

Boy Wonder went on to tell me that a boy at the group has a cobra in his garden. Someone left it there and hasn't collected it. It has bitten him once, if it was twice he would have died. I suggested that maybe this boy was joking? Oh no he wasn't stated Boy Wonder, he is not allowed to lie so I know it's true!   

Swimming lesson complete along with extended shower, we drove home. Cat Girl asked how Grandad was as he had been in hospital for a little operation today. I started to explain that he was on his way home and was okay when Boy Wonder went into his spiel of ' Is he going to die? Has he had his lungs removed or his heart?' I stopped him mid flow and explained that it was a little operation to remove a bit of flappy skin from his leg ( hoping that this brief description would reassure him.). However what came instead was ' Urrgghh don't talk about skin flaps and cut skin it makes me feel sick!!' and that was the end if the discussion.

This evening Boy Wonder's specialist education worker came to do some stuff with him on 'What is Autism?' and to go through his holiday schedule for Bulgaria to see if he had any worries or questions. They designed two new characters for his social stories, one of whom has Autism. Using the indirect approach of social stories works well with Boy Wonder and has tackled some pretty difficult matters in the three years that he has been using them.

Session complete, Boy Wonder goes upstairs with Cat Girl to organise her Sulvanian Family houses and all is quiet.....

Pre Birthday Celebrations

A nice Sunday morning lie in, followed by a relaxing breakfast and ..... Okay so it wasn't quite like that. Up at 7am ( which does constitute as a lie in in this house) due to the phone ringing with urgent work stuff. Boy Wonder then woke up and announced that his bed was all sweaty not wetty. Changed his bed but he had already changed his P.J's and got in with Cat Girl, much to her dismay!

Super man and I took the opportunity to go outside and clean out the animals, bag up garden waste for the tip and sort out the veg bed which has had way too much rain and sun!  Ten minutes in, Boy Wonder joined us. He had dressed himself ( all in grey as he thinks co ordinating actually means same) and went to collect eggs.  Cat Girl joined us shortly after but had no intention of mucking in, she supervised!   Boy Wonder moved onto the veg bed and scrutinised each remaining product for suitable growth, colour and worthiness. The sweet corn, garlic, potatoes and carrots survived the cull!

Superman took Cat Girl for her swimming lesson and Boy Wonder joined them on the understanding that he didn't have to swim! This agreed off they went to 'Play' in the water whilst I stayed behind to prepare dinners for the week ahead.   On their return, dinner eaten, Boy Wonder wanted to bake a cake for the visitors expected later. He decided to bake a chocolate cake with orange flavoured butter icing. He achieved this all by himself but just as it was about to go into the oven, the visitors arrived. Boy Wonder greeted them with ' I'm not expecting you yet, you are too early!' I reassured him that they would be happy to wait for cake. Boy Wonder then decided that the cake needed to have a purpose so proceeded to ask the visitors whose birthday it was soon? The earliest birthday was October - this will do! The only birthday candle was a ' birthday girl' candle, the birthday visitor was a boy - this will do!       ( but just in case, Boy Wonder turned it around!) 

Whilst waiting for the cake to cool, Boy Wonder decided to test the smoke alarms which are situated in the hall and and top of the stairs. He shouted for some help and one of the visitors were first to respond. He found Boy Wonder about to climb onto a chair at the top of the stairs piled high with cushions! He dismantled the make shift, rather unsafe testing platform and suggested to Boy Wonder that maybe Superman should help him? Superman promptly responded and tried to explain to Boy Wonder why his idea was not a good one although was not convinced that he really understood! 

Cake cooled and decorated, Boy Wonder ( with assistance) lit the candle and the birthday chorus was sung to him as well as the 'birthday' guest. ( Boy Wonder's birthday is also in October).  Once the celebrations were over, the visitors left for home laiden with eggs and cookies baked by Cat Girl.

This evening we settled down to watch Smurfs the movie and then Diary of a Wimpy Kid before Top Gear. Due to the colourful content of the latter two choices, Boy Wonder has now extended his vocabulary with - ' Dirty Diaper' lyrics and ' cock ' ( Thank you James May for that one in particular). It's a good job he has a few weeks to loose the additions before going back to school!  

A lesson learnt!

Up, bright and breezy this morning all ready for Jiu Jitsu grading for Boy Wonder. He has been doing Jiu Jitsu for nearly three years now and it has to be said that it has been the perfect way to teach him respect for others, discipline, confidence, self esteem and team work skills, none of which come naturally or indeed easily for those on the autistic spectrum. 

The Sensi examining gave feed back at the end of the grading and commented that Boy Wonder has boundless energy and stamina and very good technique. He then asked us what we fed him on?! I told him that we have his ADHD to thank for the boundless  energy and stamina and his autism for the excellent retention of technique.  Absolutley he said, his ground fighting was particularly impressive! Boy Wonder came away with his 8th Mon, Green belt. A very happy boy! 

We went over to Meadow Hall afterwards to get my phone repaired, Superman a new watch battery, dinner and the cinema. It was midday at this point and it was very busy. Boy Wonder went into hyper drive and spacial awareness went out of the window, walking into people, railings, walls! We retracted back to a quieter area and had lunch. 

After lunch we went to Apple to get my phone repaired. Boy Wonder was very intrigued by the gadgets and intensely questioned the young man sorting out my 'issue.' He commented that Boy Wonder seemed to have a good knowledge of the products to which I replied that he was a 'mini geek' in training! Luckily he had a sense of humour! 

Despicable Me 2 was the film of choice and Cat Girl was very amused when the minion went skinny dipping and showed his bum! Boy Wonder seemed more taken with the rocking seats!  Film finished, we excited the cinema and headed for the car. Boy Wonder took the opportunity to list all of the films that he wanted to see, Cat Girl was still giggling about the bum! 

This evening Mamma and Grandad visited. Mamma mentioned her Kindle Fire and all of the new games that she now had. She then went in to say that Boy Wonder's additions to her kindle had cost her the grand total of £12! Boy Wonder had added the games thinking that they were free because there was no password on the account like on his iPhone.  Boy Wonder apologised and said that he wouldn't do it again for two years! I explained to Mamma that she shouldn't rely on Boy Wonder's last statement and that maybe she needs to set up a password! 

Visitors gone, Boy Wonder and Cat Girl settle down for the evening. After a couple of hours crashing around upstairs, Boy Wonder finally falls to sleep, must have been all the exercise he has had today! 

When I Grow Up....

Wow what a long night last night was, even by Boy Wonder's standards! At 11.30pm he was still bouncing off of the walls so it was another night of sleeping with him using firm hold technique. By 12.30am he finally fell to sleep, yay!! He awoke at 5am and asked me to go now as he needed space. Beautiful !!

At a more reasonable hour I attempted to wake Boy Wonder. As he stirred he shouted out ' Okay, I'm in Combat, I do it every year! It's okay I'm in control! He then promptly turned over and went back to sleep. This could take a while!

Once up and at it, breakfast eaten and bags packed, Boy Wonder goes to Holiday Club. He is excited about Fish and Chip day but makes it clear that he doesn't like fish and chips are unhealthy. At this point I make my swift exit to work!

Superman picks Boy Wonder up from Holiday Club with Cat  Girl and the kittens and they go off to the vets for kitten injections. Boy Wonder takes the opportunity to interrogate the Vet on EVERY aspect of 'Kitten.' BoyWonder makes it clear that he wants to be a vet when he grows up so needs to learn. Injections complete, the Vet ushers them out of his room so that he can have a sanity break before the next patient!

This evening Boy Wonder and Cat Girl attempt to settle down together and watch tv upstairs. Night medication brought forward to encourage earlier sleep and fingers crossed!!  Boy Wonder has his Jiu Jitsu grading in the morning so needs a bit of sleep. Mmmm .....

Through the barricade

A slower start to the morning allowed Boy Wonder to awake naturally and gather his super powers. As a result he became very giddy and hyper rather quickly! He attempted to play mum's, dad's and babies with Cat Girl but this didn't work out. Boy Wonder struggled with the point of the game and as a consequence everything went to pot. Cat Girl asserted herself and removed Boy Wonder from the role of 'dad.' Time to go to Group Inspire I think! 

Today Boy Wonder is going to soft play and a picnic with Group Inspire. He is very excited! 
He is then spending the late afternoon with grandparents. 

On return from work, Boy Wonder is still at Grandparents. He arrives home about 8pm, very tetchy and tired. He hadn't eaten so Superman makes beans on toast. The beans were too mushy and the toast was not how he liked it. As a result it got piled up on the plate and left. I asked Boy Wonder about his day to which he responded that he had nearly smashed a window whilst playing ball with the dog and had filled the Granparents Kindle Fire with lots of games that they didn't really want! Sounds productive, hmmm. 

As the 'conversation' continued,  it was clear that Boy Wonder was not reading expression too well, accusing me of laughing at him when he spoke, when in fact it was a simple affectionate smile.  After some further misinterpretation over minor things, 
Boy Wonder ran from the room, slammed the door and barricaded himself in his room. 

Okay so the procedure from here is to give him time out, listen for signs of activity that requires immediate response I.e loud bangs, items leaving the bedroom window .... Anyway after five minutes I break through the barricade and squeeze through the gap. I am met with an angry little boy telling me that I have ruined his life and that HE IS NOT TIRED!!! No of course not Boy Wonder, I reply! He is really quite cute when he is angry!  I leave him to have further time out. 

A few minutes later, Boy Wonder bounces down the stairs dressed as a magician. He promptly pulls a fluffy white rabbit out of his trousers and shouts 'Ta da Magic!' After a few more 'non tricks ' he returns to his room to practice further.

Boy Wonder finishes the day by making himself a snack and a milkshake. The kitchen looks like he has had a party and I think maybe he has!