Is it just me.......?

This time of year always lends itself to heightened anxiety, agitation and aggression due to the amount of changes in routine and the build up to Christmas. I don't think that I will ever understand the length of build up to Christmas in schools which results in four weeks of changes and unpredictability. Don't get me wrong, I get that the typical kids like it, Cat Girl is in her element but its nothing short of torture for Boy Wonder and we keep sending him back every day for more!

The morning routine is failing miserably now. There are actually no good bits left, it is all full on intensity and then some. How must it feel to have your head so full of stuff  that you cannot focus, follow any sequence of instruction albeit very basic, or function? It is no exaggeration to say that Boy Wonder is being showered, dried and dressed by me every morning now. I have to physically sit him down to eat and constantly prompt him throughout. I counted the amount of times that he left his seat during a ten minute breakfast time this morning, ten times. Each time I had to retrieve him and put him back in his seat. In stark comparison, during an average weekend/ school holiday when there is no time constraint and an activity to look forward to, Boy Wonder can wash and dress himself independently and eat his breakfast with a few less prompts. And this is why it is so frustrating!

To add insult to injury today I attempted to get hold of our family resource worker who last time we spoke in October was organising a multi disciplinary meeting for December and some home positive play sessions. I had been leaving messages for the last couple of weeks only to be told today that she had left. I rang the team manager to voice my concern and got hit with a barrage of defence. In short it wasn't their fault and they wanted to pull away from the case as their involvement is limited. I explained that their involvement was limited due to lack of communication and consistency and that if they delivered an appropriate service as promised this wouldn't be an issue. She was clearly ill informed about Boy Wonder and this came accross in the suggestions made about Boy Wonder's behaviour and us requiring parenting skills.  It was at this point that I told her to read his notes and understand that we are not talking about a naughty child but indeed a child with autism and severe anxiety. I then explained that there had been further incidents that have involved Cat Girl and that the support we require is to be taken seriously and Boy Wonder to be supported appropriately. She said that she understood our frustration and would allocate another worker to the case to review where we were at. Finally we spoke about a play worker coming in to provide positive play sessions. She said that the worker knew little about Boy Wonder and this would be a good thing as she would be able to see it with fresh eyes. I explained that I thought it would be a good idea to explain about his autism as this could affect the way that she works with him. She responded by saying ' Why, is he autistic?' Oh dear, dear, dear!!! I referred her back to his notes and left the conversation there.

I received a further phone call later on regarding setting up a meeting. I said that I would make a start with this and get a date agreed in principle for them to send out letters. I was also asked cautiously if the play worker could make contact to arrange an introductory meeting? I agreed ( head in hands )

I spoke with the school later to update them on matters.  All in all the school try very hard but it is evident that they too are limited in the way of appropriate support. We have to make a decision soon on whether or not we appeal the statutory assessment decision. It's days like this that really make you think .......



Boy Wonder returned from Ju Jitsu and went straight to his room to watch football. He ran downstairs celebrating a goal in just his pants. He was clearly not bothered by this at all and went on to talk through and re inact the goal in great detail. This made us smile :-)