We went to Blackpool yesterday. Following our success at Chessington with the special wristbands, I decided to try the same at Blackpool. Reading the terms and conditions of their website, I saw that they will only issue a special wristband if you take in proof of the child's condition from an official source, such as a doctor. The letter also has to state why the child would have trouble queueing. DLA letters are not classed as proof.
Luckily, I had a detailed assessment letter from an occupational therapist who had been dealing with my son, which explained that he has a short attention span and can get agitated and aggressive. I showed this at the ticket office and they issued him with an "E" wristband, which is an exit pass, meaning that he can access all the rides from the ride exit and get on straight away.
The band is limited in that they will only allow one carer on the ride with the child. As there are 5 of us in the family, we had to take it in turns to ride with him, so we all got a fair chance at the rides. It worked out well, though, and he got to ride pretty much everything!
I think it is a shame that information about these bands are so "hush-hush". Blackpool pleasure beach certainly do not advertise the fact that these bands are available and this means that many families with disabled kids will not even know that this provision exists.
Well they do now.....!
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Saturday, 25 August 2012
I Spy....
We were returning from town on the bus and my son could hear a girl playing I spy with her mom behind us.
"Can we play I spy?" He said.
"OK".
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with R"
I looked round the bus but couldn't see anything beginning with R.
"I can't see anything beginning with R." I said.
"Nor me." he replied.
"Do you know how this game works?" I said.
"No. I was just copying the girl behind us. She said something beginning with R, so I said it too."
I explained the game and we started again. This time, he was a bit better, but he did have a habit of pointing to the thing I was supposed to be guessing.
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with O", he shouted, pointing to a lady near the front of the bus.
I looked at the woman. She didn't seem to be carrying anything beginning with O.
"I don't know" I said.
"OLD LADY!!!!" he bellowed at the top of his voice, as everyone on the bus turned round.
We won't be playing I spy again. I think it is potentially too dangerous, and I don't want to get beaten up by "Y is for Yobbo".
"Can we play I spy?" He said.
"OK".
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with R"
I looked round the bus but couldn't see anything beginning with R.
"I can't see anything beginning with R." I said.
"Nor me." he replied.
"Do you know how this game works?" I said.
"No. I was just copying the girl behind us. She said something beginning with R, so I said it too."
I explained the game and we started again. This time, he was a bit better, but he did have a habit of pointing to the thing I was supposed to be guessing.
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with O", he shouted, pointing to a lady near the front of the bus.
I looked at the woman. She didn't seem to be carrying anything beginning with O.
"I don't know" I said.
"OLD LADY!!!!" he bellowed at the top of his voice, as everyone on the bus turned round.
We won't be playing I spy again. I think it is potentially too dangerous, and I don't want to get beaten up by "Y is for Yobbo".
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Explaining Autism to a Child
Telling a child that they have Autism is always going to be hard. There is no "set way", or set age to do it. in fact, some parents choose not to tell their children anything out of fear that the child will simply not comprehend the diagnosis.
When I told my son he had Autism, he seemed confused. I explained it by saying that people with Autism are very good at some things, but find other things hard. they may also get angry easily.
He latched onto the "very good" part and didn't seem to process the rest!
Now, when he does something well, he says it is because he has Autism and he is very clever.
It's a start, I suppose.
Another issue I will have to tackle with him at some point concerns the Action for Children Group. He does not really understand why he goes there, but I know he is going to ask questions at some point. Only yesterday, I realised that he thought his brother and sister were in the "siblings group" because they were older than him and that he thought when he got older, he could join them in the siblings group too. Some of the children in his own group exhibit extreme behaviour and I wonder if he will ask me why he is in a group with them, because he doesn't see himself as different.
Am I even doing the right thing "labelling him" like this and sending him on trips with kids with challenging behaviour? His needs seem quite mild in comparison with some of the other kids that go to the group. One of the moms I spoke to who had a daughter with Autism refused to send her daughter to a special school because she was worried that the girl would see the other kids behaviour and regress herself.
There are no easy decisions here. I suppose the key is good communication and monitoring how he reacts to the group. At the moment he loves it. he went to the zoo with them yesterday and had a great time, so maybe I am worrying over nothing.
When I told my son he had Autism, he seemed confused. I explained it by saying that people with Autism are very good at some things, but find other things hard. they may also get angry easily.
He latched onto the "very good" part and didn't seem to process the rest!
Now, when he does something well, he says it is because he has Autism and he is very clever.
It's a start, I suppose.
Another issue I will have to tackle with him at some point concerns the Action for Children Group. He does not really understand why he goes there, but I know he is going to ask questions at some point. Only yesterday, I realised that he thought his brother and sister were in the "siblings group" because they were older than him and that he thought when he got older, he could join them in the siblings group too. Some of the children in his own group exhibit extreme behaviour and I wonder if he will ask me why he is in a group with them, because he doesn't see himself as different.
Am I even doing the right thing "labelling him" like this and sending him on trips with kids with challenging behaviour? His needs seem quite mild in comparison with some of the other kids that go to the group. One of the moms I spoke to who had a daughter with Autism refused to send her daughter to a special school because she was worried that the girl would see the other kids behaviour and regress herself.
There are no easy decisions here. I suppose the key is good communication and monitoring how he reacts to the group. At the moment he loves it. he went to the zoo with them yesterday and had a great time, so maybe I am worrying over nothing.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Dreams and Reality
As I have mentioned in previous blogposts, my son has a lot of difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy.
When we went on a trip a few weeks ago, he asked me if the coach was going to fly up in the sky to get to the theme park. I honestly think he wouldn't have batted an eyelid if the coach had suddenly sprouted a pair of huge wings and launched into the sky!
Yesterday, we were talking about dreams and I told him about a scary dream I had as a child.
"Grandad has got some videos of you when you were little...." he said.
".....Has he got a video of that dream you had? Can I watch it?"
He couldn't understand that a dream is something in your head and that it can't be captured on film.
When we went on a trip a few weeks ago, he asked me if the coach was going to fly up in the sky to get to the theme park. I honestly think he wouldn't have batted an eyelid if the coach had suddenly sprouted a pair of huge wings and launched into the sky!
Yesterday, we were talking about dreams and I told him about a scary dream I had as a child.
"Grandad has got some videos of you when you were little...." he said.
".....Has he got a video of that dream you had? Can I watch it?"
He couldn't understand that a dream is something in your head and that it can't be captured on film.
Thursday, 2 August 2012
Support for Siblings
My oldest two children are getting a free trip to Drayton Manor Park today, courtesy of Action for Children. This gives them a break from their little brother and a chance for some one-on-one mom and dad time for him.
Autism affects the whole family, so it is great that charities and organisations recognise this and offer support and help to brothers and sisters of disabled children.
They also got to attend the recent Mad Hatters Tea Party at Birmingham Botanical Gardens this year. This is another great charity that provides a huge party every year for disabled and disadvantaged kids. My son had been before, but this time the school SEN thought it would be nice for his brother and sister to attend instead. They had a great day and a well-deserved break.
Autism affects the whole family, so it is great that charities and organisations recognise this and offer support and help to brothers and sisters of disabled children.
They also got to attend the recent Mad Hatters Tea Party at Birmingham Botanical Gardens this year. This is another great charity that provides a huge party every year for disabled and disadvantaged kids. My son had been before, but this time the school SEN thought it would be nice for his brother and sister to attend instead. They had a great day and a well-deserved break.
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