Boing, boing, boing

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One heck of a fun day!



I just wish I'd had the video to hear those squeals......all the way up.....and all the way down.....again and again and again. Now that's my kind of proprioceptive input.


In addition today, if you have a spare moment or are looking for other autism sites you may with to nip along to "Nurse Practitioner" where you can investigate a "list" of diverse sites about "autism."


And don't forget to add your name to the "book giveaway" and spare a thought for "Nonna."

Friends for the next century

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On another tack, there's this little woman whom I have never met, called Vicki. She lives just a hop skip and a jump up the road from me and blogs at "Speak Softly." She's a busy little bug what with her "Literary Mama" column. I expect you know her too. What you may have missed, what with it being summer and all, is that her book "This Lovely Life" which is featured over here on this "Web page," although my copy is winging it way from "Amazon," probably via some unfortunate carrier pigeon knowing my luck. I'm pretty confident that it'll prove a great read as she's one of those eternal optimists but I'll keep you posted.

A snip of peace and quiet on Brownsea Island

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But it only lasted a nano second!

Nesting Jetlag

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Mother's Day preparations

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It's the simple things in life as they say, but as Mother's Day approaches in the US so does the trial.

It’s cruel to be kind really although it does smack of self interest. Mother’s Day is such a difficult concept to grasp for some.

Under normal circumstances a spouse can rally to the cause, but some spouses work for Start Up Companies, which roughly translates to indentured servitude for those not in the know. Therefore the task falls to me, the mother, to engineer my own celebration.

Some might ask ‘why bother?’ and I’d be inclined to agree but strangely, when the great day dawns inordinate amounts of stress and anxiety follow from not adhering to some arbitrary social norm. There are few things that are quite as pitiful as small people who experience a vague notion of failure because no-one thought to kick their executive function into gear well in advance.

Personally, I favour the hand made with loving care kind of a gift rather than the bankrupt and broken allowance kind of a present, but somehow the latter would be so much easier.

The simplest option would be to make a greeting card or maybe a picture, however both these options generally involve the use of paper, scissors and other irascible tools such as crayons, otherwise referred to hereonafter as weapons of torture, which rather defeats the purpose of the exercise. It’s like saying, ‘oh look mother’s day is a few weeks away, howabout you take off your shoes and walk over this handy bed of nails that I prepared earlier?’ That kind of love I can do without.

No. As often as not we work with what we’re given in the hope of achieving success. These days my children will willingly go outside into the garden and take some interest in the contents. Fortunately, you don’t need scissors to snap off a stalk and there are so many flowers to choose from. Home grown, home made and still hopeful.

Meanwhile if you’d like a secret message in a ‘word search puzzle’ bowl, just let me know.










Tomorrow on Mummy's day in the USA I shall be over at "5 minutes for Special Needs Moms."

Cheers dears

Interlopers and the Extras

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Whilst she is away, roughing it at Science Camp......



meanwhile the boys........




camp out in the lap of luxury.



And in an "Extra" today "Barbara" is hosting an event, a "Spring Blog Carnival" which asks the question:-

'how you have arranged your home to enhance your child’s development?'

I believe this is a button / link free event but I'll post a box at the bottom just in case you would like to contribute your thoughts and opinions.

This is a difficult question to answer thoroughly mainly because it is constantly changing.



For instance the six foot, blue wedge which entirely covered the family room floor now currently resides in the spare room, along with the trampolene and the L-shaped sectional. This is because my children are much bigger than they once were and need a lot more romp room.




In truth it is less used than it once was because now my children can romp outside as well as inside, something I couldn't even imagine this time last year, as outside was also out of bounds for my little hot house plants.






In fact the more I think of it the greater the list becomes. I cannot think of an area of our lives that has not been significantly altered from my own personal sleep patterns to the food that we eat. There is not a single spot in our lives that has not changed and keeps changing.






To grasp the depth of these fundamental changes more easily, all we need to do is think of any activity and run it through the lens of the sensory, what we see, hear, touch, smell and taste.






Until last summer we only ever went upstairs to sleep, not at any other time. The children could not be left unsupervised for more than a minute, maybe two.




Our house is still full of schedule boards, PECs, wipe boards and timers, as they provide scaffolding support even though their speech has improved dramatically.




We have tick down charts for every major event even if the major event is something as minor as a puppy training class.



We have labels and other charts in the most surprising places that cover the most trivial of matters. Everything is place at the right height, theirs. I sometimes suspect that our entire house is held together with Velcro.


But the only truly mysterious thing ..... is that they keep growing.




p.s. As if I didn't already have enough to smile about, this afternoon a box arrived amid the triple playdate!




I just love receiving parcels, and I had no idea who it was from except:-

Chelsea and Scott Ltd.

Who?


"Able Toys" and "One Step Ahead."




And everyone was excited about it.

Don't say that they're too old, novelty has a big impact on all children and if they play with anything other than electronics or Pokemon then that's a jolly good reason to celebrate. Thank you "Tammy" you've certainly got you "work" cut out for you.

Lookie, lookie, lookie!

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Siblings not quite so rivalrous.

The influence of modern technology:-

Whilst the boys play 'club,' they require their sister to 'guess the password' to gain entry.

"Webkinz?"
"Nope."
"Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear?"
"Nope."
"Social worker?"
"Nope."
"Double Helix?"
"Hey! You only get three guesses. You chance expire. You get to try later. Hit reset password."

More fruitiness with our first home grown strawberry, in April!

This could be yours:-




So don't forget to add your name to the "original post list" and help spread the word for the giveaway, wouldn't like to miss anyone out.

Why’s are good and other wasted words

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“Why?” asks Nonna, without preamble or clue.
“Why what?”
“Why……do dey still go to therapy?”
“Because it helps them.”
“When do dey stop?”
“I have no idea, although a couple of years ago I was there when somebody graduated.”
“Graduated?”
“Um…….had learned enough skills to be able to cope.”
“Cured?”
“No such thing.”



“But why do we have to wash the glasses when they only had water in em Mom?”
“Because your lips were on them. Do you want to drink out of a glass that’s had somebody else’s lips on it?”

“Why?”
“Why what dear?”
“Why……I am have to go to therapy?”
“Because therapy helps you do things that you find difficult.”
“Where?”
“Where what dear?”
“Where is difficult?”
“Um…..”
“You said…….it’s lost.”
“Did I? Oh right, ‘find,’ as in lost……I meant……some things are difficult for you to do. Therapy helps make them easier to do and before you ask, speech therapy helps with difficult speech.”
“Mom?”
“Yes dear?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.”
“!”

“Mom?”
“Yes dear?”
“Why?”
“Why what dear?”
“Why ……he am say……’you’re weird’?”
“Because…….he hasn’t learned that people are different…….life would be very boring if we were all the same………we’d only need two people on the earth if we were all just clones, or maybe only one come to think of it.”
“Barbi!”
“!”

Joined at the hip

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We bimble home from school with our pal, a mutual pal of both my boys. This is one of the great advantages of combined grades of some special education classes, the overlap of friendships and oodles of common ground amongst different age groups and abilities. They all grow older, better able to articulate their preferences, which run the gamut. A combination of sweet innocence and advanced sophistication.

My sons sit either side of their pal, three in a line. They both mimic their pal’s distinctive voice, intonation, emphasis and terminology, with perfection. The phrase ‘oh my god’ has recently slipped into his vocabulary, as it does with so many children. Whilst we also had this for a while too, careful actions by school and home alike, has caused extinction. I would prefer it not to return. They paw over the book and discuss favourites, their first favourite, their second favourite ad infinitum. Amused, delighted and engaged during the journey. My daughter points out the snow on the mountains. My daughter points out the child with a bunny ear head band. My daughter points out the skate boarder pulled by a dog. There is no end to the list of entertainment outside the car but the boys concentrate upon their indoor choice, as three pairs of feet kick to the same rhythm.
“Oh my god. That Coral snake bit off her finger.”
“Oh my goodness!” I squawk from the driver’s seat.
“Oh my god. That Asian cobra bit his arm.”
“Oh my goodness!” I repeat in the hope of penetration as my driving concentration dwindles. With each remark my boys howl with laughter.
“Look over there guys! D’ya see that kid has a heart balloon,” offers my daughter in a loud and enthusiastic tone.
No-one else looks. I give her a quick beam.
“Oh my god! That Fierce snake bit his finger.”
“Oh my goodness!” I need to think of another strategy. This is pointless but at least the car remains in the correct lane.
“Hey guys! Look over there! It’s an aeroplane with a message banner.” She’s relentless in her attempts to distract whilst I concentrate on the road.
“Maybe you could be a teacher or a therapist when you’re older dear?”
“No way mom! I’m gonna be a dog walker.”
“!”
“I spose we can’t make em stop kickin either,” she adds wanely.
“At least they’re all happy as clams.”
“Oh my god! That Reticulated Python bit his face.”
“Oh my goodness!”
“I can’t quite make it out…….it’s too far away…..can you drive a bit faster mom so I can try and read it?”
“Oh my god! That Massassauga snake bit his horse.”
“Oh my goodness! Too much traffic dear and I think it’s going the wrong way.”
“Oh my god! That Asian Pit viper bit her wrist.”
“Oh my goodness! You certainly know your body parts young man.”
“Hey guys. Look over there. That guy’s sellin roses. Hundred of em.”
“Oh my god. That Bushmaster bit that girl.”
“Oh my goodness! How can you tell it’s a girl?”
“Coz…………. of the sexy legs.”
My daughter and I lock eye balls before she splutters, “he sure told you!”