Sincere apologies for the lack of 'blog.' It has been a turbulent eight days in a lot of ways. Last week concluded with a grande finale where the behaviour scale hit a 10. Superman picked up Boy Wonder quite literally that day and removed him from school. Boy Wonder has taken to bolting out of the place he is in, into his classroom and running around it at high speed. A game of cat and mouse then ensues before he is either caught or he runs out again. He has also escalated this to bolting out of the school main door. Eeek! He is now wearing an 'Alert me' band!
In comparison the weekend was reasonable. Saturday was spent at football where they won again, dance which was non eventful and then onto a super car afternoon. I had bought a high speed passenger lap package for Boy Wonder and a supercar drive for Superman last Christmas and we hadn't got around to booking them until now. Boy Wonder chose a Ferrai and Superman an Aerial Atom. They signed up and Superman was given the insurance spiel. BoyWonder became quite upset that his Daddy was refusing insurance and set to work telling him that he must have it as it is very likely that he will crash. In the end Superman gave into the pressure and bought the insurance, much to Boy Wonder's relief. The super car team asked if Boy Wonder would like to come and work with them as he seemed very well informed about super car safety. That would certainly bump up their insurance sales! Boy Wonder went in the Ferrari for four speed laps reaching 155mph. He came away absolutely buzzing from the experience. He seemed to know an awful lot about the car when he had finished so probably interrogated the driver at high speed! Superman drove the Atom which looked nothing more than a kitted up go kart. It was very fast and he got a score of 87/100 for good control which is apparently very good for that car. He was impressed and wanted it writing on his certificate!
We went on to Pizza Hut for tea which went well until it suddenly became busy. Boy Wonder then retreated to the floor in the corner of the restaurant, behind our table. He put his headphones in and stayed there. The pizzas came out and he rejoined us at the table, his ability to cope quickly deteriorating. We quickened the pace, did the dutiful ice cream machine and whilst Cat Girl finished off, I took Boy Wonder outside to calm. The table next to us with the well behaved child appeared quite bewildered by Boy Wonder's oddity, although I was hoping that even they could see that a child rocking, hiding in corners and bolting at every given opportunity was a little more than just 'bad' behaviour.
On Sunday we went to an autism friendly viewing of Dolphin Tale 2 as Boy Wonder loves dolphins. It was a good job we did this as he would have been thrown out of a standard viewing! He loved the film and talked about all of the facts about dolphins that he knew ( which are many!) whilst rocking, jumping about, climbing and random bear hug grabs at Cat Girl. He did become quite distressed with a girl who was shouting during the performance. She appeared to have little verbal communication so what she verbalised made no sense to him. We spoke about it after and he said that he thought she was stupid for being so noisy. I asked him what others thought about his behaviour and he was unable to make the connection at all, even when I spelt it out. One for another time I think.
In the evening we went to the local theatre where Boy Wonder goes, to watch 'A Night at the Musicals.' He was able to sit through this with plenty of snacks and his friend with him. They both sang along and danced all the way through which gave him an energy outlet, Cat Girl fell to sleep in the second half.
Over the weekend we did some work on behaviours and exploring ideas of what Boy Wonder can do instead of things that he is doing now. We sat together and he engaged for about 25 minutes with some well thought out input. We spoke again about the cinema experience and agreed that he would take the work to school to show his TA.
The school week started badly with an escalation in anxiety induced behaviour. So much so
that on Monday, Boy Wonder was excluded from school for being uncontrollable. It was a temporary exclusion from 1.20pm until the following morning. Superman picked him up as he was closer than me but when he got there he said that he had to physically prise him off of a TA who had put herself between him and another child. There had also been another exit from the school by Boy Wonder. He is now catagorised as high risk.
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Tuesday, 30 September 2014
A Step in the Right Direction
It would be fair to say that the week continued in the same vein as it started. The 1-5 behaviour scale that school use to describe Boy Wonder's day hit its first 5 and by the beginning of this week rose to 7. For the literal amongst us this isn't technically possible but I guess it is just an illustration of the heightened difficulties,
The weekend was pretty mixed in terms of mood. Boy Wonder had a busy day on Saturday, his team winning 10-0 at football and then going to dance. Sunday was a more stay at home day with Super Gran and Biker Gramps coming for tea. There were a few incidents with the neighbours children and Boy Wonder being too rough and vocal but we managed it by giving time out and refreshing the 'rules of play.' Towards the end of play he cried and said they he would loose all his friends because he is so bad. We reassured him that his friends know that he can sometimes get over excited but using rude words is not acceptable. He appeared to understand.
A fair amount of time had been spent talking to school about behaviour management strategies and they have gone all out to pull in resources from everywhere possible. It is a classic example of reaction and how the 'system' works. The reality is that home life has seen little change except for an improved sleep pattern and appetite. However, the behaviour at school is what we see at home, hence our lengthly battle for support.
Unfortunately communication this week has resulted in a meltdown this morning. Boy Wonder arrived home with a timetable of when he would be in class ( which is hardly ever and not at all on some days!) he angrily told me that the rest of his day is in reception class with a TA. Oh jeez, an angry child in a class of 4 year olds is just an incident waiting to happen! I agreed with Boy Wonder that I would talk to his teacher about it in the morning.
The school journey this morning was a difficult one. Boy Wonder was already very worked up. I asked him to stay with me whilst I spoke with his teacher which distressed him further. He then caught sight of the school photographer and started shouting ' she's Chinese!' over and over. We got into class and was about to speak to the teacher when someone decided to jump ahead of us. Consequently Boy Wonder became more frustrated and I gave up. We went into the playground.
Before leaving school I spoke with the Head about the potential ticking time bomb of Boy Wonder going in to reception and the added issue of him feeling excluded and reinforcing his belief that he is stupid. She got it and explained that they were crisis managing and are working hard to get it right. I explained that we understood this but the reception class is not the solution. We compromised and agreed the same strategy but in a class with older children would be more suitable.
On leaving school, I heard Boy Wonder shouting me and crying. The next minute he ran at me and clung on for dear life! I sat him down and calmed him. He had run out of the class because he was told he was going to reception. I explained what I had just spoken to the head about and he started to calm. Eventually I left him in the hands of the TA and she took him to the chill out tent.
After a rather long day of worrying and a midday phone call to check Boy Wonder was okay, I collected him from school. He was very high and this resulted in him jumping on the tables and running around them in the classroom. I gathered his belongings and took him out to the car.
This evening was fairly settled due mainly to him being exhausted. Before going to bed he asked if he could take a stress ball to school as he is helping to set up the chill out tent. One little request that demonstrates a huge step in the right direction.
The weekend was pretty mixed in terms of mood. Boy Wonder had a busy day on Saturday, his team winning 10-0 at football and then going to dance. Sunday was a more stay at home day with Super Gran and Biker Gramps coming for tea. There were a few incidents with the neighbours children and Boy Wonder being too rough and vocal but we managed it by giving time out and refreshing the 'rules of play.' Towards the end of play he cried and said they he would loose all his friends because he is so bad. We reassured him that his friends know that he can sometimes get over excited but using rude words is not acceptable. He appeared to understand.
A fair amount of time had been spent talking to school about behaviour management strategies and they have gone all out to pull in resources from everywhere possible. It is a classic example of reaction and how the 'system' works. The reality is that home life has seen little change except for an improved sleep pattern and appetite. However, the behaviour at school is what we see at home, hence our lengthly battle for support.
Unfortunately communication this week has resulted in a meltdown this morning. Boy Wonder arrived home with a timetable of when he would be in class ( which is hardly ever and not at all on some days!) he angrily told me that the rest of his day is in reception class with a TA. Oh jeez, an angry child in a class of 4 year olds is just an incident waiting to happen! I agreed with Boy Wonder that I would talk to his teacher about it in the morning.
The school journey this morning was a difficult one. Boy Wonder was already very worked up. I asked him to stay with me whilst I spoke with his teacher which distressed him further. He then caught sight of the school photographer and started shouting ' she's Chinese!' over and over. We got into class and was about to speak to the teacher when someone decided to jump ahead of us. Consequently Boy Wonder became more frustrated and I gave up. We went into the playground.
Before leaving school I spoke with the Head about the potential ticking time bomb of Boy Wonder going in to reception and the added issue of him feeling excluded and reinforcing his belief that he is stupid. She got it and explained that they were crisis managing and are working hard to get it right. I explained that we understood this but the reception class is not the solution. We compromised and agreed the same strategy but in a class with older children would be more suitable.
On leaving school, I heard Boy Wonder shouting me and crying. The next minute he ran at me and clung on for dear life! I sat him down and calmed him. He had run out of the class because he was told he was going to reception. I explained what I had just spoken to the head about and he started to calm. Eventually I left him in the hands of the TA and she took him to the chill out tent.
After a rather long day of worrying and a midday phone call to check Boy Wonder was okay, I collected him from school. He was very high and this resulted in him jumping on the tables and running around them in the classroom. I gathered his belongings and took him out to the car.
This evening was fairly settled due mainly to him being exhausted. Before going to bed he asked if he could take a stress ball to school as he is helping to set up the chill out tent. One little request that demonstrates a huge step in the right direction.
Tuesday, 23 September 2014
So far .....
The weekend was a stark reminder of life before medication and was consequently hard work! However Boy Wonder managed to hold down a game of football without too much difficulty but dance afterwards proved to be too much and his concentration spam waned significantly.
Saturday afternoon was spent at home, baking and playing on the computer. Grandparents babysat in the evening whilst Superman and I went out with friends for a short while. The brief description of how Boy Wonder behaved 'he's been a bloody bugger!' made us smile but was probably quite accurate!
Superman took Boy Wonder on a long bike ride on Sunday and we implemented the evening exercises. In short Boy Wonder was highly energetic, impulsive yet happy. It was nice to have a change from anxiety and aggression but by Sunday evening we were exhausted.
One significant positive has already arisen in that Boy Wonder is falling to sleep at a reasonable time and sleeping through the night. This has happened for two nights in a row and although its early days, is the first time that he has ever slept for more than a few hours.
The school mornings so far have been easier than anticipated with Boy Wonder not really becoming too excitable until leaving for school. However, school itself has been a whole different ball game. Boy Wonder has struggled from start to finish. Lots of movement breaks, time out and reassurance required on day one, moving to no assembly's or play times on day two due to not being able cope with the other children. Hitting out, jumping all over the other children and generally be over aroused by the environment meant that more time has been spent out of the classroom than in it.
Although Monday evening was fairly settled, this evening was difficult. Boy Wonder fought , shouted and seemed to struggle with any sort of demand. He eventually settled at Ju Jitsu but during training he got kicked in the face and ended up with a bloody nose!
So far it has been a testing time but the one feeling it the most is our boy and we are determined not to lose sight of that. The side effects to the medication have not only instigated weight loss but quite possibly contributed to the heightened agitation. Despite the recent difficulties, Boy Wonder does seem happier and that is worth it's weight in gold. His presentation is also allowing us to pin point the difficulties with greater ease and providing opportunities to put in strategies to help him. And that can only be a positive thing.
Saturday afternoon was spent at home, baking and playing on the computer. Grandparents babysat in the evening whilst Superman and I went out with friends for a short while. The brief description of how Boy Wonder behaved 'he's been a bloody bugger!' made us smile but was probably quite accurate!
Superman took Boy Wonder on a long bike ride on Sunday and we implemented the evening exercises. In short Boy Wonder was highly energetic, impulsive yet happy. It was nice to have a change from anxiety and aggression but by Sunday evening we were exhausted.
One significant positive has already arisen in that Boy Wonder is falling to sleep at a reasonable time and sleeping through the night. This has happened for two nights in a row and although its early days, is the first time that he has ever slept for more than a few hours.
The school mornings so far have been easier than anticipated with Boy Wonder not really becoming too excitable until leaving for school. However, school itself has been a whole different ball game. Boy Wonder has struggled from start to finish. Lots of movement breaks, time out and reassurance required on day one, moving to no assembly's or play times on day two due to not being able cope with the other children. Hitting out, jumping all over the other children and generally be over aroused by the environment meant that more time has been spent out of the classroom than in it.
Although Monday evening was fairly settled, this evening was difficult. Boy Wonder fought , shouted and seemed to struggle with any sort of demand. He eventually settled at Ju Jitsu but during training he got kicked in the face and ended up with a bloody nose!
So far it has been a testing time but the one feeling it the most is our boy and we are determined not to lose sight of that. The side effects to the medication have not only instigated weight loss but quite possibly contributed to the heightened agitation. Despite the recent difficulties, Boy Wonder does seem happier and that is worth it's weight in gold. His presentation is also allowing us to pin point the difficulties with greater ease and providing opportunities to put in strategies to help him. And that can only be a positive thing.
Saturday, 20 September 2014
Big Decisions!
On picking the children up from school on Thursday, Boy Wonder came out of the classroom with a shredded T-shirt which was also very chewed. However his teacher and Boy Wonder said that there had been no real problems and it had been a fairly settled day. As we walked outside, he started to hold his tummy and double over, seemingly in pain. Tummy ache is always a difficult call with Boy Wonder as he gets it when anxious but will also use its presence to not go to clubs which often provide a welcome distraction to the anxiety. However, if this is the case, Boy Wonder generally stops mentioning the tummy ache fairly quickly as he has told me once so he doesn't need to tell me again.
We drove to the clubs but Boy Wonder still appeared to be in some pain as intermittently he would hold his stomach and crouch like he was having spasms. This was unusual for him and is only really seen during periods of acute anxiety. Boy Wonder is rarely ill in general terms. We dropped Cat Girl off at Ju Jitsu and I made Boy Wonder an appointment with the GP as 40 minutes on he was still seemingly in quite a bit if discomfort. He didn't protest about going to the Doctors or missing football which convinced me that I had made the right decision.
The appointment ran 40 minutes late which only increased Boy Wonder's anxiety but once in the appointment he was checked over and weighed. The GP said that she was happy that there were no physical indicators to suggest something such as appendicitis but with the symptoms and the state of hisT-shirt, anxiety was the likely cause. She asked for a urine sample to send off and we spoke about his weight ( he has lost another 1kg, making it 2kg lost in a month,) went through his medication and identified the ADHD medication as the only one with appetite suppressant side affects that was likely to be contributing to the weight loss. She also re referred to the dietician for supplement support although was aware that we have been giving Boy Wonder build up shakes daily and this wasn't sufficient to support weight gain. The GP said that she would write to the Consultant and request a medication review and asked me up ring the hospital to request this also.
Boy Wonder rested for the remainder of the evening and the tummy ache subsided eventually.
Yesterday was the day of the meeting with the LocalAuthority and school to agree the Statement of SEN. Before this I rang Boy Wonder's consultant and explained about yesterday and the weight loss. We agreed an immediate medication break from the ADHD medication to allow for recovery and a review in four weeks. She expressed her concern that his health needs outweighing the positives of the treatment so needed to be managed. Superman and I had, had this same conversation last night and drawn the same conclusion.
During the meeting we discussed the areas that Superman and I had raised as inaccuracies in the statement and were relieved to find that all of the points were recognised and added. The teacher contributed by illustrating a typical day and the difficulties they faced. The new Head appeared very proactive and decisive about things and as a result the statement was agreed in principle ( the actual support hours to be agreed at panel, but I was assured that they wouldn't be reduced!) and we then spoke about the medication change. The Head responded by saying ' forewarned is forearmed and therefore we will discuss a management plan to put into place for Monday as required.' The LA stated that the school can call an early review for the statement at any time should they find that the statement is no longer sufficient. In addition the LA confirmed that the OT is experienced in autism and sensory processing disorder and they are happy for her to liaise with our OT for consistency. A speech and language therapy referral was also agreed along with the use of earphones in class to block out some noise and the use of his ( not so healthy ) high calorie snacks at break time. We ended the meeting and for the first time in four years we felt that we actually had Boy Wonder's needs agreed. We are just hoping now that the statement hours allow for the work needed.
So we are now entering a month of raw ADHD. We have spoke to Boy Wonder about it and he seems very happy that he will have more energy! I don't think he quite grasped the point but hey ho. Hold on to your hats!
We drove to the clubs but Boy Wonder still appeared to be in some pain as intermittently he would hold his stomach and crouch like he was having spasms. This was unusual for him and is only really seen during periods of acute anxiety. Boy Wonder is rarely ill in general terms. We dropped Cat Girl off at Ju Jitsu and I made Boy Wonder an appointment with the GP as 40 minutes on he was still seemingly in quite a bit if discomfort. He didn't protest about going to the Doctors or missing football which convinced me that I had made the right decision.
The appointment ran 40 minutes late which only increased Boy Wonder's anxiety but once in the appointment he was checked over and weighed. The GP said that she was happy that there were no physical indicators to suggest something such as appendicitis but with the symptoms and the state of hisT-shirt, anxiety was the likely cause. She asked for a urine sample to send off and we spoke about his weight ( he has lost another 1kg, making it 2kg lost in a month,) went through his medication and identified the ADHD medication as the only one with appetite suppressant side affects that was likely to be contributing to the weight loss. She also re referred to the dietician for supplement support although was aware that we have been giving Boy Wonder build up shakes daily and this wasn't sufficient to support weight gain. The GP said that she would write to the Consultant and request a medication review and asked me up ring the hospital to request this also.
Boy Wonder rested for the remainder of the evening and the tummy ache subsided eventually.
Yesterday was the day of the meeting with the LocalAuthority and school to agree the Statement of SEN. Before this I rang Boy Wonder's consultant and explained about yesterday and the weight loss. We agreed an immediate medication break from the ADHD medication to allow for recovery and a review in four weeks. She expressed her concern that his health needs outweighing the positives of the treatment so needed to be managed. Superman and I had, had this same conversation last night and drawn the same conclusion.
During the meeting we discussed the areas that Superman and I had raised as inaccuracies in the statement and were relieved to find that all of the points were recognised and added. The teacher contributed by illustrating a typical day and the difficulties they faced. The new Head appeared very proactive and decisive about things and as a result the statement was agreed in principle ( the actual support hours to be agreed at panel, but I was assured that they wouldn't be reduced!) and we then spoke about the medication change. The Head responded by saying ' forewarned is forearmed and therefore we will discuss a management plan to put into place for Monday as required.' The LA stated that the school can call an early review for the statement at any time should they find that the statement is no longer sufficient. In addition the LA confirmed that the OT is experienced in autism and sensory processing disorder and they are happy for her to liaise with our OT for consistency. A speech and language therapy referral was also agreed along with the use of earphones in class to block out some noise and the use of his ( not so healthy ) high calorie snacks at break time. We ended the meeting and for the first time in four years we felt that we actually had Boy Wonder's needs agreed. We are just hoping now that the statement hours allow for the work needed.
So we are now entering a month of raw ADHD. We have spoke to Boy Wonder about it and he seems very happy that he will have more energy! I don't think he quite grasped the point but hey ho. Hold on to your hats!
Friday, 19 September 2014
Challenges and Erruptions
The last two days of school involved similar challenges to that of the first day back. Boy Wonder was clearly overstimulated and this resulted in shouting out in class, using bad words and generally struggling to concentrate for any length of time.
On collection from school on Thursday, he became so high in the playground that his teacher again took him inside. After collecting Cat Girl, we collected him and I was helped to get him to the car. There had been a particular incident during the afternoon which erupted once in the car and consequently lasted for a couple of hours. I took him to dance where he managed a short amount of time but then spent some time out with one of the tutors. He rejoined the group for the final ten minutes.
Friday appeared to be a fairly settled day in comparison. Boy Wonder and Cat Girl went to after school club for a short while until Superman finished work and then came home and played outside. All seemed to be going well until Boy Wonder erupted into a shouting and hitting out frenzy. The other children ran off and we didn't see them again all weekend!
The weekend was a bit more settled with football and dance on Saturday and a five mile bike ride on the Sunday. We visited Super Gran and Biker Gramps new house after the bike ride. The house is still empty and was echoey which sent Boy Wonder straight up! We only stayed for half an hour but he remained high but agitated for the remainder of the night.
The second week back at school seemed to be no different to the first. The afternoons brought a loud and distracted yet distracting Boy Wonder. On Tuesday the decision was made to collect Cat Girl and Boy Wonder from the classrooms rather than the playground as Boy Wonder going into the play ground was becoming an impossible task.
Oliver rehearsals increased to twice weekly this week which meant added concentration for Boy Wonder. Luckily the adult cast are now becoming more involved with the children to join the scenes together. Boy Wonder found the sessions really interesting and enjoyable and can now see how it is all working.
Wednesday night was consequently a late night but once settled he slept.
On collection from school on Thursday, he became so high in the playground that his teacher again took him inside. After collecting Cat Girl, we collected him and I was helped to get him to the car. There had been a particular incident during the afternoon which erupted once in the car and consequently lasted for a couple of hours. I took him to dance where he managed a short amount of time but then spent some time out with one of the tutors. He rejoined the group for the final ten minutes.
Friday appeared to be a fairly settled day in comparison. Boy Wonder and Cat Girl went to after school club for a short while until Superman finished work and then came home and played outside. All seemed to be going well until Boy Wonder erupted into a shouting and hitting out frenzy. The other children ran off and we didn't see them again all weekend!
The weekend was a bit more settled with football and dance on Saturday and a five mile bike ride on the Sunday. We visited Super Gran and Biker Gramps new house after the bike ride. The house is still empty and was echoey which sent Boy Wonder straight up! We only stayed for half an hour but he remained high but agitated for the remainder of the night.
The second week back at school seemed to be no different to the first. The afternoons brought a loud and distracted yet distracting Boy Wonder. On Tuesday the decision was made to collect Cat Girl and Boy Wonder from the classrooms rather than the playground as Boy Wonder going into the play ground was becoming an impossible task.
Oliver rehearsals increased to twice weekly this week which meant added concentration for Boy Wonder. Luckily the adult cast are now becoming more involved with the children to join the scenes together. Boy Wonder found the sessions really interesting and enjoyable and can now see how it is all working.
Wednesday night was consequently a late night but once settled he slept.
Friday, 12 September 2014
Do as I say not as I do!
Wednesday morning we got up fairly early for breakfast as we needed to be in central London for 10.30am. Boy Wonder ate his usual toast and muffins and Cat Girl had cereal, yogurt and muffins whilst everyone else had the cooked breakfast.
We packed up the cars and headed for the tube station, establishing the holding hands rule before setting off. The train wasn't too busy to start with but when we switched to the tube it became busier and unbelievably hot. Boy Wonder was becoming agitated by this and was relieved to exit the station.
We got a drink and walked to the Houses of Parliament. Once in the line to be security checked we explained to Boy Wonder that he would need to be quiet and respectful as this was an important place of work for the people that ran our country and not many people get the opportunity to visit. Boy Wonder said that he understood and consequently behaved very well. Cat Girl also did very well to say that a lot of it went over her head.
However, we were utterly amazed at the distinct lack of respect that the M.Ps have for each other and the sheer lack of professionalism to say that they are deciding the 'rule book' for our country. The Prime Minister and other party leaders were in Scotland debating Scotland's independence but there were still some well known and 'respected' politicians there. A certain gentleman spent the entire question time playing on his phone, others were also doing the same. They were chatting between themselves quite loudly when others were speaking and walking in and out as they pleased. There was also the usual jeering which I guess is a more accepted part of politician behaviour.
Boy Wonder was disgusted at what he saw and spoke about it a lot during the PMQs and after. We had no answers for him as we were equally as shocked. We agreed to write to Mr Speaker with our thoughts.
We were shown around the Speaker's House afterwards and then went into the cafe for a late lunch. The whole of the building was grand but with high ceilings and little soft furnishing it made for a very echoey environment. This was taking it toll on Boy Wonder who became more and more agitated.
We spent a couple of hours around London, having ice cream, going on a high swing ride and watching street entertainers. Boy Wonder was asked to join in with some of the milder acrobatics.
We left Central London by tube at about 3pm as Boy Wonder was becoming more and more unsettled. He became upset by the people begging on the street. This bothers him every time. We got off of the tube and went back to the hotel to pick up the car.
The journey home was very eventful as Boy Wonder kicked and thrashed around for the first hour. We were in Superman's smaller car so this became very difficult to manage. We stopped at a services, went to the toilet and picked up some snacks. After this he seemed to settle a bit better but once home he escalated again, making for a very late night.
In hindsight it was clear that this trip within the first week back at school wasn't great timing but the experience ( although not as we expected) was valuable.
We packed up the cars and headed for the tube station, establishing the holding hands rule before setting off. The train wasn't too busy to start with but when we switched to the tube it became busier and unbelievably hot. Boy Wonder was becoming agitated by this and was relieved to exit the station.
We got a drink and walked to the Houses of Parliament. Once in the line to be security checked we explained to Boy Wonder that he would need to be quiet and respectful as this was an important place of work for the people that ran our country and not many people get the opportunity to visit. Boy Wonder said that he understood and consequently behaved very well. Cat Girl also did very well to say that a lot of it went over her head.
However, we were utterly amazed at the distinct lack of respect that the M.Ps have for each other and the sheer lack of professionalism to say that they are deciding the 'rule book' for our country. The Prime Minister and other party leaders were in Scotland debating Scotland's independence but there were still some well known and 'respected' politicians there. A certain gentleman spent the entire question time playing on his phone, others were also doing the same. They were chatting between themselves quite loudly when others were speaking and walking in and out as they pleased. There was also the usual jeering which I guess is a more accepted part of politician behaviour.
Boy Wonder was disgusted at what he saw and spoke about it a lot during the PMQs and after. We had no answers for him as we were equally as shocked. We agreed to write to Mr Speaker with our thoughts.
We were shown around the Speaker's House afterwards and then went into the cafe for a late lunch. The whole of the building was grand but with high ceilings and little soft furnishing it made for a very echoey environment. This was taking it toll on Boy Wonder who became more and more agitated.
We spent a couple of hours around London, having ice cream, going on a high swing ride and watching street entertainers. Boy Wonder was asked to join in with some of the milder acrobatics.
We left Central London by tube at about 3pm as Boy Wonder was becoming more and more unsettled. He became upset by the people begging on the street. This bothers him every time. We got off of the tube and went back to the hotel to pick up the car.
The journey home was very eventful as Boy Wonder kicked and thrashed around for the first hour. We were in Superman's smaller car so this became very difficult to manage. We stopped at a services, went to the toilet and picked up some snacks. After this he seemed to settle a bit better but once home he escalated again, making for a very late night.
In hindsight it was clear that this trip within the first week back at school wasn't great timing but the experience ( although not as we expected) was valuable.
Facial Expression Battles
School started back on Tuesday and to say I was dreading it was an understatement. Boy Wonder wasn't ready to go back and nothing further had been sorted out about his support at school, so in affect they weren't ready either.
The arrival at school went okay as although Boy Wonder was verbalising that he didn't want to be there, seeing his football buddies gave him a welcome distraction. I spoke with the TA about key holiday things, in particular the medication not being increased due to his weight loss of a further 1kg and the need for a supplement drink during the morning. I also spoke with both teachers about the burglary just in case either child mentioned in their 'What did I do in the holidays' work, making it very clear that it is done and dealt with and everything is okay.
I went off to work and spent a few hours doing the prep for the interviews ( for my job) as I have chosen to leave this role and work less hours as a consultant. As with many parents of disabled children, there becomes a time when you have to make that decision and for us it was when the hours spent in hospitals and education meetings started to out way the hours spent working. It effectively makes you unemployable which means that only two options remain - stop work altogether or work for myself part time with flexible working hours. I opted for the latter.
I parked on the school car park on pick up and walked into the playground. Boy Wonder came out as I was trying to get Cat Girl ( it is very busy in the first week due to the new reception children.) He started to run off and become very excitable, throwing things around. His teacher and I stopped him and she took him back into the classroom to get his weighted jacket and to try and calm him whilst I got Cat Girl. It took ten minutes to get her from the classroom, but once collected we met Boy Wonder and attempted to leave the playground. At this point he started to shout, throw himself to the floor saying that I was hurting him. The new Head teacher stood and watched with a look of shock on her face. Boy Wonder interpreted this as a cross look so reacted by shouting at her that he was a bad boy and to stop looking at him. We eventually got to the car, followed out by the TA and after a lot of thrashing about in the car he finally sat down. I explained to her that Boy Wonder's confusion with the new Head's facial expression and she said that she would do some work on facial expressions with him. It's so easy to forget that Boy Wonder is shockingly poor at correctly reading facial expressions in new people.
This evening we travelled to London with Boy Genius and family. They had been invited to Prime Minister's Question Time and asked us to join them. We arrived at the hotel and joined them for dinner in the restaurant. Both Boy Wonder and Boy Genius seemed to be still reeling from their first day back at school so moods were erratic and unstable. We did have a good waiter however, who gave us a quiet spot in the restaurant and was very good with the kids. After dinner we took them back to the rooms to settle down. I settled Boy Wonder down by tickling his back and firm hold which took about an hour but eventually he fell to sleep. He looked exhausted!
The arrival at school went okay as although Boy Wonder was verbalising that he didn't want to be there, seeing his football buddies gave him a welcome distraction. I spoke with the TA about key holiday things, in particular the medication not being increased due to his weight loss of a further 1kg and the need for a supplement drink during the morning. I also spoke with both teachers about the burglary just in case either child mentioned in their 'What did I do in the holidays' work, making it very clear that it is done and dealt with and everything is okay.
I went off to work and spent a few hours doing the prep for the interviews ( for my job) as I have chosen to leave this role and work less hours as a consultant. As with many parents of disabled children, there becomes a time when you have to make that decision and for us it was when the hours spent in hospitals and education meetings started to out way the hours spent working. It effectively makes you unemployable which means that only two options remain - stop work altogether or work for myself part time with flexible working hours. I opted for the latter.
I parked on the school car park on pick up and walked into the playground. Boy Wonder came out as I was trying to get Cat Girl ( it is very busy in the first week due to the new reception children.) He started to run off and become very excitable, throwing things around. His teacher and I stopped him and she took him back into the classroom to get his weighted jacket and to try and calm him whilst I got Cat Girl. It took ten minutes to get her from the classroom, but once collected we met Boy Wonder and attempted to leave the playground. At this point he started to shout, throw himself to the floor saying that I was hurting him. The new Head teacher stood and watched with a look of shock on her face. Boy Wonder interpreted this as a cross look so reacted by shouting at her that he was a bad boy and to stop looking at him. We eventually got to the car, followed out by the TA and after a lot of thrashing about in the car he finally sat down. I explained to her that Boy Wonder's confusion with the new Head's facial expression and she said that she would do some work on facial expressions with him. It's so easy to forget that Boy Wonder is shockingly poor at correctly reading facial expressions in new people.
This evening we travelled to London with Boy Genius and family. They had been invited to Prime Minister's Question Time and asked us to join them. We arrived at the hotel and joined them for dinner in the restaurant. Both Boy Wonder and Boy Genius seemed to be still reeling from their first day back at school so moods were erratic and unstable. We did have a good waiter however, who gave us a quiet spot in the restaurant and was very good with the kids. After dinner we took them back to the rooms to settle down. I settled Boy Wonder down by tickling his back and firm hold which took about an hour but eventually he fell to sleep. He looked exhausted!
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