A Good Work Out!!

The last day before breaking up for Easter was a lively one. Boy Wonder was up very early and as high as kite! The morning routine felt like mission impossible! He bounced into the class room and I said little to this teacher as actions speak much louder than words.

Boy Wonder went to Boy Genius's house for tea and movie night. He seemed to really enjoy it and managed to hold it together until he got home where he unravelled quickly and took his place back on the ceiling.

Saturday brought the usual football and dance before Boy Wonder and Super Man joined Cat Girl and I at the car boot. We were selling a lot of old toys and in Boy Wonder's case, practically new and unused! The agreement was that the children sold their old toys and they could use the money to buy something new. It was a dry day but a little chilly which brought out lots of people so we practically sold everything!  Boy Wonder didn't stay long as he seemed very unsettled, just wanting to go home. Cat Girl stuck it out and was quite helpful. We raised enough money for Boy Wonder to buy an Xbox and Cat Girl a play house for the garden. We won the Xbox on the auction site that afternoon that needed collecting.

We got home, had tea and were visited by grandparents before going out to a friend's party. There were a few children there that ours knew so we were hopeful that Boy Wonder would be okay. However, he struggled a fair bit with the dynamics and there were a few incidents mainly directed at Cat Girl but also at one of the other boys. We didn't stay too long as Boy Wonder's recent struggles at social events told us that quality over quantity was the best option!

We got a taxi home and as Boy Wonder got in he said hello to the driver by using his name. I asked him how he knew the man's name and he said that he had read his I.D badge! When we got home he attempted to exit the taxi onto the main road and had to be grabbed before he bolted from the car! He fell to sleep quickly once in bed.

This morning brought a very excitable Boy Wonder which became more and more apparent as the day went on. I had to write down the day's routine as he wasn 't retaining any verbal information. After a few hours of sorting the garden with grandparents who foolishly came round for a coffee as we were moving things around, (great timing!) Superman started to doubt if he had given Boy Wonder the wrong medication. He hadn't. We even went to the point of checking his room in case he had dropped it, but be hadn't.

We went off with Grandparents to have a wander around a nice historic town before stopping for dinner and then going to pick up the Xbox. The two hours that followed have quite possibly been the most energetic in a long time. Boy Wonder was not at all in control. He bounced around, threw himself to the floor, attempted to run and repeated information over and over with no ability to retain it. We walked down past the locks where he insisted that he had super powers and wanted to show us how he could jump the locks. He tried to get into the ruins through padlocked gates and tried to climb over the gating. We struggled to find somewhere to eat as we were seriously doubting Boy Wonder's ability to cope in a sit down situation. Eventually we found a pub with outside seating which wasn't busy. I took Boy Wonder for a walk whilst waiting for dinner. We found a horizontal pole which I used to get him doing pull ups and hanging upside down. We also did a bit of pigeon chasing before going back to the pub.

The exercise didn't seem to do a great deal and he sat down fidgeting, shouting out and generally struggling to get what was going on. We had dinner, which seemed to be painfully slow and then left. We went back to the car and went to collect the XBox. Boy Wonder remained very unsettled in the car, but once it was collected, fell to sleep! He must have been a absolutely exhausted and he wasn't the only one!

On arriving home, Superman set up the Xbox and Boy Wonder played football on it. After about half an hour he took himself off up to bed. Cat Girl settled too and Superman and I weren't far behind.

Madness!!

The tribunal deadline is closing in so we are finding ourselves attending a lot of meetings and appointments, reading reports and distributing paperwork. It is turning into a full time job! We have been through a tribunal before to get Boy Wonder a statutory assessment but this time we are 'fighting' for a statement. This has gone from simply asking for some additional support to accepting the growing reality that Boy Wonder 's needs cannot be met in the current provision and so therefore alternatives need to be identified.   This is because the assessments completed have identified specific difficulties and strategies required that aren't normally available in a mainstream provision, I.e sensory diet.

The school holidays are peppered with hospital appointments to finalise reports and to digest the independent reports received which are very specific with their recommendations that Boy Wonder does indeed need full time specialist intervention.

The last week of school before the holidays has been hard work. The changes in routine, the panic of forgotten projects, school trips and the general excitement of Easter has taken it toll.  We are determined however that the children will get an Easter break, despite the huge amount of appointments and the inward panic that we are feeling that everything is completed within deadlines.

Boy Wonder and his friend are going on an adventure day which looks like great fun. We are all going away to London for a couple of days to go to the theatre ( Boy Wonder's favourite place) to see Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and the museums. We will do what we can to mask the madness that is really going on. On this occasion we can learn from the Master - Boy Wonder!!

Impulsivity!!

This morning Boy Wonder woke early and was very high and bouncy. He gave me a lot of hugs and said that he was no longer running away as he liked it here! I asked him if he understood why what he did yesterday was wrong and he said ' yes, my brain told me wrong,' I asked him if he would go it again and he said he wasn't sure. Impulsivity is such a wonderful thing!

He got ready for school with a lot of help. Boy Wonder knocked his knee on the shower door which prevented him from walking for a few minutes and created this loud whaling sound! Cat Girl reluctantly got ready and we headed to school.

I told the teacher about yesterday's running away threat just in case he attempted it at school. I also explained about his brain telling him to do things ( impulsivity.)

The day was fairly non eventful but on picking the children up from school it was clear that Boy Wonder was quite high. His teacher explained that for the last half an hour he had been very giddy and over active. She also said that the day routine for the last week of school is a little more adhoc due to children showing their projects. This is a project that needs up be in for Friday that I learnt about this morning!

We went home for tea and after half an hour of chill time left to go to piano and Ju Jitsu. Boy Wonder remained hyper happy all the way there. The piano lesson was taken by the calmer tutor of the two and seemed to have an equally calming effect on Boy Wonder and I even got a quick lesson in relativity thrown in!

Boy Wonder went on to Ju Jitsu and we came home. Cat Girl did her reading before bed and got tongue tied over 'Bang the Gong!' Which was amusing and I wasn't at all helpful.

Boy Wonder returned in a fairly calm mood and went straight upstairs to watch football before settling down in bed.

My Brain Told Me To Do It

Boy Wonder was up early on Saturday and it wasn't long before he was bouncing around causing havoc! We herded him into the shower and after drying and dressing whilst he was jumping up and down, we headed off to dance.

Whilst Boy Wonder was dancing I nipped into town to get a birthday present for his little girlfriend's birthday, whose party we went to straight afterwards after picking up Cat Girl, who was also invited. Boy Wonder approved the present which was a heart necklace and ring. I had to buy Cat Girl a separate present up give as Boy Wonder wouldn't allow her to share his.

The party was a photo shoot and all girls. Boy Wonder did okay to say that he is naturally awful when it comes to photos! Cat Girl refused to participate for the first ten minutes but towards the end didn't want it to end. They had food and sang to the birthday girl. The candles set the fire alarm off but it soon stopped . Boy Wonder participated in the balloon games for a little while and then withdrew and sat down for the last half hour.

On the way home we discussed having a de clutter over the weekend and if they agreed to sell on some toys they could spend the money on something new for themselves. Boy Wonder stated that he wanted to buy an Xbox but wasn't too keen on getting rid of anything.

In the evening we went to a wedding reception for a colleague of mine. The children didn't know any of the other children but were pleasantly surprised by the sweetie table as was I! However the venue was hot, busy and noisy and so after the first half an hour, Boy Wonder escaped under the table and remained there for about three hours. During this time we asked him if he wanted to go home ( he didn't)gave him food and he played on his tablet. The last half an hour before leaving he decided to come out as it was less busy and he had a dance with the bride.

Sunday brought a day of decluttering which Boy Wonder didn't like one bit. He displayed very low mood and cried throughout the morning. We had allowed him to opt out and play with the neighbours but they weren't in so he became more and more agitated. It transpired that he didn't want to sell his castle but wanted the Xbox so he didn't know what to do.  We agreed that he keeps his castle but could sell some old imaginex toys that were in the loft. He appeared much happier after this  as he justified it by them being little boys toys that he no longer needed.   Cat Girl surprised us by how much she wanted to get rid of ( practically everything!) She is keen to do a Carboot next weekend!

The afternoon and evening was spent by grandparents and cousins visiting. They all seemed to get drafted into the declutter one way or another.  Once this was finished, I tackled the ironing pile whilst the children got their fill of Minecraft. Superman did a bit of work and then settled Boy Wonder and Cat Girl down for bed.

Today brought a school trip for Boy Wonder to an animal park. This meant a long coach drive which would clash with his medication wearing off on the way home. After battling with Boy Wonder to get him ready, we all left for school.

I spoke with Boy Wonder's teacher about the concerns over the trip home and she said that she would keep a close eye on him and pair him with a sensible child! I explained that I would expect his behaviour ( if displayed ) to be managed in a way that didn't involve shouting at him. She said she understood.

The trip apparantley went well ( I was told he was fine and Boy Wonder also stated he was fine,). We returned home, had tea and he went out to play with the neighbours on the trampoline. I took Cat Girl swimming but on our return I saw Boy Wonder running down the main road with the boy next door chasing after him.  He ran down the side of a houses  and I parked up and met him as he ran to the back of the houses where his friend lives.  I summonsed him inside and spoke to him about the dangers of being near the main road. He was very upset and ran upstairs to write me a note saying that he was leaving home. I gave him a few minutes to calm down and then we spoke. Boy Wonder stated that his brain tells him to do things and he has to do them. I explained the dangers of his actions and said that we will work together to get his brain to think about things before doing them. He settled down for bed as did Cat Girl. Boy Wonder was still quite angry .

Strategies ....

Boy Wonder didn't sleep too well Wednesday night but instead read books into the early hours.  After a couple of hours rest he got up for school. Regardless of the lack of sleep he was still very lively on waking and and very difficult to co ordinate.

Eventually we left to go to school. It was drizzly and horrible so we went straight in and they joined the exercise to music group. The bell went and after they had gone to class I left for work.

The school day was reported to be okay but I later found out that Boy Wonder had been involved in a further confrontation after telling someone to shut up. This was advice that Superman had given him but he got it a bit wrong! Superman had in fact said ' if the person doesn't shut up, walk away.' Boy Wonder misinterpreted this and thought that he had to tell the person to shut up. We need to work on retraining this strategy now!

After some initial anxiety over the confrontation, Boy Wonder had a fairly settled evening, even scoring a goal at football.  As a result of the exercise and the lack of sleep the previous night, Boy Wonder had a more settled night.

This morning after the usual school morning madness, the children went to breakfast club whilst I met with Boy Wonder's teacher to review his IEP. We established that Boy Wonder doesn't require any support hours for  his actual learning needs and although he may need them for his social and emotional needs, this is not the question that is being asked of the teacher. I explained that the Note in Lieu was about his social and emotional needs not his learning so it is that, that should be reviewed  when considering hours.

The teacher then went on to explain that he is not learning as much as he is capable of as he misses quite a bit of lesson time due to sensory breaks, time out and therapies.  (So there is a learning need.) Finally we agreed that being more direct when speaking with Boy Wonder rather than pussy footing around him creating ambiguity, is the better way. I have been attempting to get this into the IEP for a while as when they speak with Boy Wonder about a matter, very often he misses the point and then doesn't respond with anything. Their concern was that by being too direct would upset him and because he doesn't like school anyway, it would put him off further. I explained that Boy Wonder doesn't think like that and would prefer to know exactly what is being asked of him rather than the social niceties. Furthermore he would probably learn to like school more if he establishes an outlet for his anxiety.

It was the school Easter fayre after school. Boy Wonder was very excited and came bounding into the hall to look for our cake entry competition. Cat Girl followed shortly after and immediately found her picture that was also in a competition. Neither won a prize as there were a lot of reception class entries and just the one winner ( and some fabulous entries) and I set up the cake competition and co ordinated the judges so couldn't really win anyway. However, someone bought it and I am sure will be indulging on chocolate overload tonight!

Superman arrived at the fayre after work and supervised the children whilst I helped out. Boy Wonder became quite unsettled towards the end and got into a couple of scrapes whilst playing. He then went on to throw himself on the floor, hide and generally become unsettled. We helped to tidy up after and then left for home.

This evening I spoke with Boy Wonder about his anger and hitting out. We established that he does feel in control of himself when he hits out but he is doing it to get the other person away from him and because he wants to show them that he is angry. He also stated that other children hit out so it must be okay. A bit of work to do over the weekend I think !

Boy Wonder and Cat Girl had their dose of Minecraft before settling down for bed. A busy weekend ahead of parties and weddings!!

Autism Awareness Day!!

Today is National Autism Awareness Day!! Boy Wonder was very excited by this as it was all about him! I guess he has a point.

The day started in pretty much the usual way. Cat Girl wasn't feeling the need to rush this morning so  we ended up rushing around more than normal. Once at school I spoke to the teacher about yesterday who knew nothing of what I was talking about. We spoke about it briefly and later with the TA who also knew nothing. They said that they would have a look into it today.

I went off to work in my Onsie for our Autism Awareness Day. As is typically the case we ended up with an unannounced inspection which went well. Must have been the addition of the onsies that gave us the edge!

I picked the children up from school and spoke again about the incident yesterday. It is evident that matters are being played down. Boy Wonder had said little and nothing was witnessed. I expressed concern that matters are likely to escalate the more that Boy Wonder misinterprets others and the increasing level of aggression he is displaying. However my concerns were not heard.

We went off to clubs and Boy Wonder started to become anxious again. I asked him if there had been any more problems at school and he said yes, the same girl told him off after he told her to shut up. Superman had given him a strategy to use after yesterday's problems. He told him that if the person upsetting him didn't shut up when asked he was to walk away from them. Unfortunately Boy Wonder repeated the bit that wasn't really meant for repeating. Yes we should know better!

After clubs we came home, baked cakes and had tea. Boy Wonder seemed more settled and after watching Minecraft for an hour, went to bed and read his book.

Another falling out

Boy Wonder woke in a fairly agitated frame of mind. He flitted about excessively but when the slightest thing didn't go the way he needed it to. He became highly anxious. When giving him a basic instruction such as ' put your shoes on.' He took several minutes and many prompts to complete it and just didn't seem to be able to process the instruction.

We left for school and I asked him if he would be attending the after school club today? He said definitely not . I spoke to his teacher about this as he did like the subject of the after school club but was refusing to attend after the volunteer shouted at him. She said that she would have a chat with him.

I picked them both up from the other after school club. Boy Wonder appeared distracted. We got into the car and he quickly showed signs of anxiety, stating that he was a bad boy and then constantly asking for reassurance. This escalated into anger and self harm as I stopped the car at piano. Boy Wonder repeatedly hit his head against the side of the front seat of the car and again with his hand at the side of his head. He kept calling himself a freak but didn't understand  I distracted him by getting him out of the car and walking to piano ( holding on to him tightly!) I asked  him if something was or had upset him. He then blurted out a collection of events involving a girl in his class who had been mean to him that he had shouted at and hurt by through something at her. I of course was blissfully unaware of all of this as his diary wasn't in his bag.

Boy Wonder had a reasonable piano lesson although was distracted and he then got changed to go to Ju Jitsu. Whilst he was changing I discussed with the tutors about the report they are writing for the tribunal and agreed to send them a bundle of documents.

On return from Ju Jitsu Boy Wonder watched football before settling down in bed. Superman and I watched the autism programme on BBC 1. It was a good insight and followed a range of individuals with varying needs.

As we went up to bed, Boy Wonder became agitated. He shouted out that he was having bad thoughts about his cat being electrocuted. I reassured him that this wouldn't happen.