He's really growing up

M has had a really great week and we have had one of his language spurts. He is using past and present tense more freely, although we still have a few diddids and haddids. His sequencing skills are really coming on too and he can give us an idea of the chronology of events from his past.

This evening M took a liking to one of my dust covered exercise DVDs. All week he has been urging me to do some exercises on the telly, 'like when I was a little boy and laughed alot'. I couldn't quite winkle out the reason for this new found interest in my fitness levels, until he explained that he'd rather like me to be able to do back flips and save Lazy town like Sportacus.

I wish I had introduced him to Davina long ago. Not only did he manage to keep up with every thing and do a whole hour, he was chatting with her as she shouted encouragement through the TV. I thought that his improvisation with tins of spaghetti for weights were particularly resourceful too!

EARTH FROM THE AIR AT OXFORD CASTLE

M with Lucy and Jim at Oxford Town Hall

The world at his feet

We had a fantastic day yesterday, with Lucy and Jim. We visited a museum in Oxford, which I have to say is the whilst interesting, was the least child friendly place I have ever visited. I'm sure one staff member was following us because at every turn she bellowed "Don't touch, don't run and don't breathe" Suffice to say that, whilst I won't name and shame them, we won't be going back!

On the way back, by chance we decided to have a look around Oxford Castle.
We were amazed by this exhibition

http://www.wecommunic8.com/earthfromtheair/

'EARTH FROM THE AIR AT OXFORD CASTLE, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, is an astounding exhibition of 120 giant sized floodlit pictures. It is a photographic portrait of our planet illuminating its beauty whilst raising awareness of man’s impact.'

The giant photos were stunning and the kids totally engaged. The sheer diversity of the subject matter and scale of these photos are hard to describe. The sight of the man made and natural disasters were the most moving for me. The exhibition ends on Sunday so I shall be taking the Dad tomorrow They evoked every emotion possible and I walked away thinking "Oh Lord what a mess we have made"

'My Funny Valentine'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP6MAo57zdA

We were very pleased when M arrived home from school yesterday, with this rather lovely offering. I am rather hoping that he meant 'dear' rather than 'dire' parents!

We spent this morning shopping for all things sensory. Our haul included a balance ball and hula hoop. I realised that we had turned a pretty big corner when M told me several times that the noise of the people talking and music hurt his ears. We bought a rather unsuitable pair of earphones, but I have just ordered these,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KIDS-GREEN-EAR-DEFENDERS-PR0TECTORS/dp/B000VWP9BW/ref=pd_cp_ce_2?pf_rd_p=136153791&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000O31HOQ&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0JAPW196ENFAS6AEK73D

I shall let you know how are sensory diet is going very shortly, but the massage with lavender oils, and blanket rolling, have definitely had a calming effect.

This scooter board;

http://www.benefitsnowshop.co.uk/shop/detail/3388.htm

is absolutely fabulous and so much fun. I hope that it helps with his coordination too.

We have also purchased a weighted neck wrap that can be warmed in the microwave from this ebay seller (also recommended by our OT)

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/therapistchoice_Weighted-Items_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ10385724QQftidZ2QQtZkm

The weighted vests sold from by this seller, seem very reasonable, compared with others I have seen.

Happy birthday dear blog

I can't believe that it is a year since I started writing about M's journey. Putting my thoughts down in writing has not only been cathartic, but it has given me a permanent record to refer back to. I have met some wonderful people, who are dealing with the same issues Total Chaos, Shells and Roaring Mouse spring immediately to mind. I've gained a wealth of knowledge from speaking to people and hearing their stories and felt most honoured to have the multi talented Donna Williams drop by and leave her comments.

Sadly, I feel I must scale back on my posts. It is not so much that I have run out of things to say (family and friends can wipe off that smirk) but more because I seem to be having more and more trouble juggling every one's needs including my own. I hope that when I do drop by to write a post, that they will be heavier on content. All that remains is to say a big thank you to all of those who have followed the blog and kept me going with your encouragement.

Minor Musing

Two things happened today, that made me really tune tune into the implication of language disorder for M. Despite having problems with a small number of children at school, M does have some of the most wonderful classmates. One little boy in particular, idolises M and is a loyal companion. Whilst out in the car today, I was relaying a story to the Dad about a conversation, that this little lad had with his Mother. She had been asking him if he would like to have some posters for his bedroom wall and if so which super hero he would like. He answered that he would love a poster of M! On overhearing our discussion, M got into a bit of a flap and I had to adapt my choice of words to explain what had been said. "I can't be a post" he said "No" I replied "he wants a picture of you to hang on his wall" The bottom lip trembled and he squeaked "I can't be on his wall, how would I get down?"

Later, M had been downstairs watching a DVD for some while. I often worry a little if things are too quiet, so I padded down to join him. It was his favourite Sponge Bob movie, but he had watched the whole thing in German. "Can you understand what is happening M?" I said "because its a different language and I don't know what they are saying" He eventually tore his eyes away from the screen and said "Yes because I can see what is happening!" It occurred to me that, whilst these children have to find totally different mechanisms to make sense of the world, they arrive at the same conclusions the end.

Whoooooeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Too slow, too fast, just right!

Speech language and ABA

We have well over four inches of snow so I shall keep it brief today. I came across this blog http://www.speechandaba.blogspot.com/ recently, which is pretty illuminating.We have briefly explored ABA, but I found that in some ways the concept didn't seem to sit well with the speech and language pathology route. This blog gives examples of ways in which the two may work together harmoniously.

This site http://www.mariposaschool.org/curriculum.html which was recommended to me, explains ABA in more detail.

Verbal Bullying

I have been putting off writing this post for a long time. As the parent of child with with fairly complex difficulties, the issue of bullying has been a complicated one. It is part of my nature to protect my child with the ferocity of a miniature Yorkshire terrier. In other words I have to bite back my instinct to snap at children and indeed the parents of children, who are unkind. People judge M by his behaviour, often without appreciating his disability. My Mums eye view of M's early years at school, seemed like an exercise as painful as cutting my milk teeth. We had the slow realisation that M's problems were not transitory and a prolonged plod towards an inevitable diagnosis.

As M's Mother, I felt his pain acutely and I am sure that this coloured the way in which I reacted to the name calling and nastiness from other children. I can now take a step back and look at this objectively. Teasing and goading is an inevitable part of growing up, I sometimes think that it is almost a rite of passage. The problem for me is that M is not socially or emotionally equipped to deal with the escalation of the 'Get M' games and the gradual slide from fairly innocuously 'naughty M' and 'Baby' to labels such as 'retard' or 'idiot'. His reactions to this, coupled with his language and sensory difficulties, have resulted in him changing from a placid toddler to an angry and aggressive, confused school boy. It isn't just a bit of fun, or kids just being kids and it really isn't OK.

This link to BBC Ouch its a disability thing:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/fact/ouch_q_a_12_bullying.shtml has help me to sort out the wood from the trees, in terms of when I need to let things go and when to make a stand. I don't view the children that torment M as being 'bad' kids, they are merely struggling with their own feelings . I do see the need to help nurture a good understanding of disabilities and differences from a young age, in order to help stamp out these prejudices.

AFASIC

I have recently come to the point where I feel I have a reasonable grasp of M's difficulties. It has been a long haul to get to this point and it hasn't been made any easier by the different opinions of professionals, that we have seen along the way.

I am finally happy that the specific language impairment label best fits M. There are a number of differing opinions about SLI and I have found it very hard to fully comprehend where this differs from severe language delay. I have found the AFASIC pdfs quite interesting, although I have to confess that I only have an understanding of the content, from a layman's perspective. The pdf on specific language impairment is of particular interest, for obvious reasons:-http://www.afasic.org.uk/pub.htm#glossary

This http://www.kidsource.com/NICHCY/speech.html Link is also useful.

A special day

Cheating a bit as this one was taken last year

It has been a beautiful day today; everything felt soft and muffled. The Dad and I visited the gorgeous venue, where we will be hosting something rather lovely later in the year. I shan't tell you about it just yet, as I have that strange sense that it is fragile, like one of those iridescent bubbles that M loves to blow and burst. It seems strange to be planning a celebration, in these difficult times.

On the way back, we drove past the school and I caught snatched glimpses of M through the gaps in the school hedge. He was rolling a huge snowball across the school field to make a snowman. M's eyes were bright and his face flushed, with the cold and exertion. He was completely absorbed and connected to the everything around him.

After school, the Dad took M out up on to the mound. Father Christmas had bought a bright red sledge and they spent over two hours making good use of it, by sliding down the huge slope. I was heartened to hear that M shared his sledge with a little boy who had been resourcefully trying to use a body board, with little success.

M came home calm and chatty and he ate a huge dinner. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. It occurred to me that these boys really should be outside doing rather than sitting inside a classroom.