SO proud of my little boy today. He won an award in assembly for his writing skills. The teacher was so proud of him because, despite his autism, he was able to put himself into character to write a letter for their topic on Vikings. Here is the letter that he wrote:
Dear Mom,
How are you? I miss you so much but I'm having fun with Alfred. The farm here is full of cows. How are the cows at home?
My new friend King Alfred is a bit bossy and a good fighter. He has a very sharp sword which he keeps hanging out of his belt.
King Alfred still feels bad about burning the cakes. But he burned the deer meat.
You send me a letter soon. I cant wait to hear your news.
Ethlebert.
Monday, 22 April 2013
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Latest IEP
Every few months we have to fill in an Individual Education Plan, which outlines the schools targets for my son.
We have had so many issues lately that I was really hoping that a statement might be on the agenda.
No chance.
The teacher and SENCO had already printed off a list of arbitrary targets for him to work on, such as times tables and letter formations. Nothing to address his social and emotional problems, which were conveniently brushed under the carpet.
I was told that if I need help with his anxiety issues, I will just have to go back to CAMHS.
Waste of time. My son hates school and cries every morning about going. The local council is doing some workshops about SEN, so I hope I can attend one of them and get some advice.
We have had so many issues lately that I was really hoping that a statement might be on the agenda.
No chance.
The teacher and SENCO had already printed off a list of arbitrary targets for him to work on, such as times tables and letter formations. Nothing to address his social and emotional problems, which were conveniently brushed under the carpet.
I was told that if I need help with his anxiety issues, I will just have to go back to CAMHS.
Waste of time. My son hates school and cries every morning about going. The local council is doing some workshops about SEN, so I hope I can attend one of them and get some advice.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Why Baking Bread With an Autistic Kid is a Bad Idea...
My son wanted to know how bread was made. He is a curious chap and I decided to show him rather than tell him.
I got all the stuff together and we went into the kitchen to make our bread. The trouble is, I didn't think about the fact that autistic kids are hypersensitive to smells, textures and other sensory stimuli.
I put the yeast into the mixture.
"EW! What is that horrible smell. Eugh!"
"Its the yeast. You need it to make the bread"
"IT STINKS! IT STINKS! GET IT AWAY".
Anyway, I encouraged him to overcome his fear of the yeast and have a go at kneading the dough.
"EW! It feels horrible. Oh, it is stuck to my fingers. Get it off! Get it off!"
I finished up the loaf myself. He did eat it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
He says next week we will go back to baking cakes again instead.
I got all the stuff together and we went into the kitchen to make our bread. The trouble is, I didn't think about the fact that autistic kids are hypersensitive to smells, textures and other sensory stimuli.
I put the yeast into the mixture.
"EW! What is that horrible smell. Eugh!"
"Its the yeast. You need it to make the bread"
"IT STINKS! IT STINKS! GET IT AWAY".
Anyway, I encouraged him to overcome his fear of the yeast and have a go at kneading the dough.
"EW! It feels horrible. Oh, it is stuck to my fingers. Get it off! Get it off!"
I finished up the loaf myself. He did eat it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
He says next week we will go back to baking cakes again instead.
Friday, 29 March 2013
Tact
I was hauled before the class teacher again yesterday. I hadn't a clue what my son had done this time and he was keeping tight-lipped.
Turns out he had upset a girl in the class by telling her that her dad, a smoker, was going to die of cancer.
The dad was really angry apparently, and it took a lot for the teacher to calm him down.
Looks like I'd better keep my eye open for lynch mobs in the playground.
My son sees the world in black and white. To him, something is good or bad. There is no in-between.
He knows that my grandad died of lung cancer from smoking and that his own grandad died of smoking related complications. He also know a close friend of ours who survived lung cancer, but has a husband who smokes. This is why he is so anti-smoking. Couple this up with the ads on the TV and radio and it is easy to see why he said what he did.
We had a word with him about being considerate of others feelings. He needs to learn about how words can hurt and to have empathy for others.
I dread these "chats" with the teacher, which seem to be incresing in frequency lately.
Turns out he had upset a girl in the class by telling her that her dad, a smoker, was going to die of cancer.
The dad was really angry apparently, and it took a lot for the teacher to calm him down.
Looks like I'd better keep my eye open for lynch mobs in the playground.
My son sees the world in black and white. To him, something is good or bad. There is no in-between.
He knows that my grandad died of lung cancer from smoking and that his own grandad died of smoking related complications. He also know a close friend of ours who survived lung cancer, but has a husband who smokes. This is why he is so anti-smoking. Couple this up with the ads on the TV and radio and it is easy to see why he said what he did.
We had a word with him about being considerate of others feelings. He needs to learn about how words can hurt and to have empathy for others.
I dread these "chats" with the teacher, which seem to be incresing in frequency lately.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Science Day
Today was science day at school and the parents got to go into school to see what the kids had been doing in science.
Talk about organized chaos.
There were tables around the edge of the room with "experiments" on them, but as I arrived mid-morning, most of the "experiments" had turned to mush and slop.
For example, some genius thought it was a good idea to place a vat of cornflakes and milk in the school hall to show what happens to cornflakes when they get soggy. There were lots of big plastic syringes that the kids could use to baste the flakes in milk.
Guess what happened?
My son ended up squirting some poor girl with milk all over her nice jumper. I bet she will stink for the rest of the day. I told my son to be more careful and he descended into a screaming fit. The teacher came over to see if he was OK.
"It's a bit unstructured for him isn't it?" she remarked.
"And noisy."
Anyway., I managed to calm him down and we went to look at another experiment. This time it was about teabags. My son enjoyed poring out the tea...all over the floor of the hall...We quickly moved to the next experiment, a pile of mouldy food in bags. My son went to grab one....we moved on again.....
In the end, we settled for an experiement where he ran round the hall and I took his pulse. It seemed to keep him amused.
Science day was a bit rubbish really.
Talk about organized chaos.
There were tables around the edge of the room with "experiments" on them, but as I arrived mid-morning, most of the "experiments" had turned to mush and slop.
For example, some genius thought it was a good idea to place a vat of cornflakes and milk in the school hall to show what happens to cornflakes when they get soggy. There were lots of big plastic syringes that the kids could use to baste the flakes in milk.
Guess what happened?
My son ended up squirting some poor girl with milk all over her nice jumper. I bet she will stink for the rest of the day. I told my son to be more careful and he descended into a screaming fit. The teacher came over to see if he was OK.
"It's a bit unstructured for him isn't it?" she remarked.
"And noisy."
Anyway., I managed to calm him down and we went to look at another experiment. This time it was about teabags. My son enjoyed poring out the tea...all over the floor of the hall...We quickly moved to the next experiment, a pile of mouldy food in bags. My son went to grab one....we moved on again.....
In the end, we settled for an experiement where he ran round the hall and I took his pulse. It seemed to keep him amused.
Science day was a bit rubbish really.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Eating Out
We went to town yesterday afternoon because my son had to have his yearly eye test. He is on a very high prescription for his glasses and needs a new pair every year. He loves having his eyes tested and marvelled at all the gadgets in the optician room. His favourite was the "machine that turns people into cybermen" as pictured below.
The optician had to reassure him that he wasn't going to be assimilated before he put his chin in the machine!
After the eye test it was getting quite late and the kids were hungry, so I decided to take them to a restaurant. My son is a picky eater, so finding something on the menu that he would eat was hard, but in the end he settled for a hot-dog and chips.
Unfortunately, we went in at the same time as a group celebrating a birthday. They were sitting up the corner making a lot of noise, blowing on these squawky little trumpets. This freaked my son out.
"SHUT UP!!!" he screamed to them. "STOP BEING NOISY!!!!"
I don't think they heard him.
He then started screaming and covering his hands over his ears. Autistic kids are especially sensitive to stimuli and loud noises really scare him. He couldn't bear it and was getting increasingly stressed and anxious.
In the end, I had to call a waitress over and ask for her help. She went and got the manager. Oo-er!
The manager was great. I explained the situation and she went over to the offending table to have a chat. Then it went quiet.
I felt like a bit of a party pooper, but they were VERY noisy. They were not being very considerate to anyone else in the restaurant.
So I guess I probably ruined some kid's birthday, but hey, nowadays it is rare for a week to go by without us raining on someones parade.
After the eye test it was getting quite late and the kids were hungry, so I decided to take them to a restaurant. My son is a picky eater, so finding something on the menu that he would eat was hard, but in the end he settled for a hot-dog and chips.
Unfortunately, we went in at the same time as a group celebrating a birthday. They were sitting up the corner making a lot of noise, blowing on these squawky little trumpets. This freaked my son out.
"SHUT UP!!!" he screamed to them. "STOP BEING NOISY!!!!"
I don't think they heard him.
He then started screaming and covering his hands over his ears. Autistic kids are especially sensitive to stimuli and loud noises really scare him. He couldn't bear it and was getting increasingly stressed and anxious.
In the end, I had to call a waitress over and ask for her help. She went and got the manager. Oo-er!
The manager was great. I explained the situation and she went over to the offending table to have a chat. Then it went quiet.
I felt like a bit of a party pooper, but they were VERY noisy. They were not being very considerate to anyone else in the restaurant.
So I guess I probably ruined some kid's birthday, but hey, nowadays it is rare for a week to go by without us raining on someones parade.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Developing Fine Motor Skills
Today I went to help out at school. On a Tuesday I usually have half an hour with my son in the mornings to work on things like handwriting and maths. Today we did something different though.
The teacher gave us a coffee jar and some pegs. The aim of the game was to clip all of the pegs on the outside of the jar. The game encourages the development of fine motor skills. My son found it quite easy clipping the pegs on the jar, so I made it harder by getting him to put one hand behind his back, close his eyes, or use his finger and thumb only.
We had a lot of fun doing it and he ended up better at it than me! It is a simple and easy way to encourage children to develop their hand-eye coordination.
The teacher gave us a coffee jar and some pegs. The aim of the game was to clip all of the pegs on the outside of the jar. The game encourages the development of fine motor skills. My son found it quite easy clipping the pegs on the jar, so I made it harder by getting him to put one hand behind his back, close his eyes, or use his finger and thumb only.
We had a lot of fun doing it and he ended up better at it than me! It is a simple and easy way to encourage children to develop their hand-eye coordination.
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