It hasn't been the greatest day.
Bright Eyes has been very difficult to deal with. Lots of tantrums and inability to cope with change.
Of course, it didn't help that I was recovering from a night in emergency on Sunday (vomiting bug), his sister was home 'sick' from school and my husband is away for two days.
It makes me realise just how well he has been doing, because today it felt like the bad old days again.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Duck duck goose
Bright Eyes just loves to play duck duck goose*.
Today he and his sister and dad were playing a version of the game, but using different words. I think his sister began it by saying 'Muffin, muffin....eat!' and then (ahem) 'toilet, toilet.... flush'.
Bright Eyes got creative and added his own words: 'broom, broom, sweep', 'Veggitales, veggitales.... eat it' and 'Shane, Shane... David**'.
I'm sure that counts for something in RDI-objective-land... I'll just have to find out what.
*That's the game where a child runs around the circle of sitting children, tapping each on the head and saying 'duck' until he chooses one and says 'goose', whereupon the chosen child hops up and races around the circle trying to catch the first one. Geddit?
**Shane and David are the Umbilical Brothers, physical comedy geniuses and the stars of the brilliant new 'Upside Down Show' on ABC Kids TV. Bright Eyes just LOVES it.*
Today he and his sister and dad were playing a version of the game, but using different words. I think his sister began it by saying 'Muffin, muffin....eat!' and then (ahem) 'toilet, toilet.... flush'.
Bright Eyes got creative and added his own words: 'broom, broom, sweep', 'Veggitales, veggitales.... eat it' and 'Shane, Shane... David**'.
I'm sure that counts for something in RDI-objective-land... I'll just have to find out what.
*That's the game where a child runs around the circle of sitting children, tapping each on the head and saying 'duck' until he chooses one and says 'goose', whereupon the chosen child hops up and races around the circle trying to catch the first one. Geddit?
**Shane and David are the Umbilical Brothers, physical comedy geniuses and the stars of the brilliant new 'Upside Down Show' on ABC Kids TV. Bright Eyes just LOVES it.*
Help needed
Can any RDI-ites out there help me work out what to do for this objective that we are supposed to be working on?
Basically, I have to demonstrate that Bright Eyes can recognise that the same things can become more or less important depending on the task you are doing. He should be able to distinguish three different levels of importance (very, a bit, not at all).
I'm guessing that I should set up a few different tasks using the same stuff. I'm thinking painting. We could do a printing task where using the print is important but the colour of the paint is not. Then I could change it to only doing red paint - so the blue and yellow are not important. And whether it's done with a brush or a print is less important.
Any other ideas?
Basically, I have to demonstrate that Bright Eyes can recognise that the same things can become more or less important depending on the task you are doing. He should be able to distinguish three different levels of importance (very, a bit, not at all).
I'm guessing that I should set up a few different tasks using the same stuff. I'm thinking painting. We could do a printing task where using the print is important but the colour of the paint is not. Then I could change it to only doing red paint - so the blue and yellow are not important. And whether it's done with a brush or a print is less important.
Any other ideas?
Friday, October 26, 2007
Support groups
I haven't had great success yet with the support groups that I've attended for parents of special needs children.
The first was a playgroup style group with a few paid staff. Most of the parents were shy and not keen to chat, although the staff were helpful. Mind you, I was new to it all, and in a lot of shock, so I'm not sure I would have recognised much support even if it was there.
The second was a group organised by the local early intervention centre. There were three other parents involved, and it was a 'you run yourselves' type affair. Most of the time was spent talking about run of the mill stuff like building new houses, buying new cars and where we all purchased our groceries.
I found the attitude of the parents to their children's special needs was almost nearing denial. "Oh, he's improving heaps. He knows all his colours. Everyone's a bit odd anyway. He'll be fine once he gets to school." They didn't appear to be interested in finding out much about their child's problems, or looking for solutions.
The group I've just joined seemed to be a little more promising. It is run by a woman who is both an early childhood teacher and a trained counsellor. But there is only one other parent, and she really likes to talk. She also has a lot of difficulties just getting her life together.
The first meeting felt like me giving support, but not getting much myself. I want to have a good discussion about accepting your child as they are and what that means, but I don't think that's going to happen for a while.
Thankfully I have support from other people. My regular counsellor is a tremendous help, our family give us time and love on the phone plus babysitting, and so many people at our church are truly interested in Bright Eyes and give me time to talk about both the good times and the challenges.
The first was a playgroup style group with a few paid staff. Most of the parents were shy and not keen to chat, although the staff were helpful. Mind you, I was new to it all, and in a lot of shock, so I'm not sure I would have recognised much support even if it was there.
The second was a group organised by the local early intervention centre. There were three other parents involved, and it was a 'you run yourselves' type affair. Most of the time was spent talking about run of the mill stuff like building new houses, buying new cars and where we all purchased our groceries.
I found the attitude of the parents to their children's special needs was almost nearing denial. "Oh, he's improving heaps. He knows all his colours. Everyone's a bit odd anyway. He'll be fine once he gets to school." They didn't appear to be interested in finding out much about their child's problems, or looking for solutions.
The group I've just joined seemed to be a little more promising. It is run by a woman who is both an early childhood teacher and a trained counsellor. But there is only one other parent, and she really likes to talk. She also has a lot of difficulties just getting her life together.
The first meeting felt like me giving support, but not getting much myself. I want to have a good discussion about accepting your child as they are and what that means, but I don't think that's going to happen for a while.
Thankfully I have support from other people. My regular counsellor is a tremendous help, our family give us time and love on the phone plus babysitting, and so many people at our church are truly interested in Bright Eyes and give me time to talk about both the good times and the challenges.
Cute
Bright Eyes had a great day at preschool today. Lauren, a little five year old, who has taken him under her wing turned to him and said, "You're so cute Bright Eyes".
He looked at her and said, "Yes. You're cute too."
He looked at her and said, "Yes. You're cute too."
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
RDI online
Our RDI program is now online. The Connections Centre has gone through a lot of work and expense to get all the RDI objectives together in an online database for us to use. We can upload our video clips and chat to our consultant as well.
So far so good. I find it easier to see where we are at every week and soon there will be a library of other people's video clips giving examples of each objective. So if I'm stuck for ideas I can pinch theirs!
So far so good. I find it easier to see where we are at every week and soon there will be a library of other people's video clips giving examples of each objective. So if I'm stuck for ideas I can pinch theirs!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Our regular prayer points
Thanks for praying for Bright Eyes. It’s been a while between updates and I’m really happy to say that he’s made some good progress in these couple of months.
Food: He’ll eat better quality sausages, corned beef and eggs now! Plus I’m getting vegies into him through juices and surreptitious zucchini bits in his home baked raisin toast.
Toilet: I was going to ask you to pray about this, but didn’t get to it. In the meantime, he has become mostly toilet trained! Hooray! This is a huge step.
Clothes: He has become a weeny bit more flexible and will wear a couple of shirts with designs on them. This from the child who has only worn plain colours for more than a year is fantastic.
Demeanour: A few less tantrums, and we are getting better at dealing with them and not overreacting ourselves. This week we’ve seen him start to say “Good talking Mum” instead of “Stop talking Mum!” which is a nice change.
Friends: He has begun to be slightly more sociable and interested in making friends and playing... not all the time, but enough to make a difference.
God is very good.
Our prayer requests for this month are:
Siblings: He gets on well with his sister, but the baby is another story. The two of them are continually at each other. Bright Eyes has been seen to just reach over and headbutt his brother for absolutely no reason that we can see!
Bowel: This area of his body has a big effect on his brain, and it’s still not healthy. I’m heading to the homeopath again next week to see what we can do about it.
RDI therapy: He needs to be able to coordinate more with us and participate in general activities. And we need to maintain our focus and keep communicating effectively with him.
Thanks everyone. We really appreciate it!
Food: He’ll eat better quality sausages, corned beef and eggs now! Plus I’m getting vegies into him through juices and surreptitious zucchini bits in his home baked raisin toast.
Toilet: I was going to ask you to pray about this, but didn’t get to it. In the meantime, he has become mostly toilet trained! Hooray! This is a huge step.
Clothes: He has become a weeny bit more flexible and will wear a couple of shirts with designs on them. This from the child who has only worn plain colours for more than a year is fantastic.
Demeanour: A few less tantrums, and we are getting better at dealing with them and not overreacting ourselves. This week we’ve seen him start to say “Good talking Mum” instead of “Stop talking Mum!” which is a nice change.
Friends: He has begun to be slightly more sociable and interested in making friends and playing... not all the time, but enough to make a difference.
God is very good.
Our prayer requests for this month are:
Siblings: He gets on well with his sister, but the baby is another story. The two of them are continually at each other. Bright Eyes has been seen to just reach over and headbutt his brother for absolutely no reason that we can see!
Bowel: This area of his body has a big effect on his brain, and it’s still not healthy. I’m heading to the homeopath again next week to see what we can do about it.
RDI therapy: He needs to be able to coordinate more with us and participate in general activities. And we need to maintain our focus and keep communicating effectively with him.
Thanks everyone. We really appreciate it!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
T-shirt breakthrough
I was fishing around in the top of the boys' closet today when I found this Sesame street T-shirt that someone had given Bright Eyes last Christmas. I put it away because he flatly refused to wear it... until today.
He's really been into SS in a big way recently, and he was thrilled to see Ernie and Bert on a T-shirt. "Put it on, put it on," he said straight away.
I grabbed the camera for proof that he can now suddenly wear shirts with designs on them! Wow!
Friday, October 19, 2007
People and chocolate
When I arrived at preschool to pick him up today, Bright Eyes was happily sitting in a huge bin in the sandpit. He was up to his armpits in sand, with another little boy busy filling up the bin to completely cover him. The two of them were delighted with their progress together.
"Mum. Look at me. I'm in it. He's doing it," sang out Bright Eyes. We had a great laugh. (I wasn't laughing quite so much when I poured a cupful of sand out of his shoes later...)
He had a great social day today. I was delighted to see that lots of children said goodbye affectionately to him today. And I've noticed a couple of other good interactions with children in the last week.
We were in a playground this week and he saw a little boy about two and a half years old. I saw him look at the boy, point to my husband and say “My dad”. Then he pointed to me and said, “mum”. It was as if he was saying, “Hey, those are my parents.”
On another topic entirely...
In order to be less rushed in the morning, we are getting up ½ hr earlier so we all have more time to do what we need to. We also have time to do what I’m calling “Chocolate family jobs”.
So far, it’s just been unpacking the dishwasher. All five of us go to do it. Then afterwards, we all have a family hug together and get a small piece of chocolate.
Four out of five days Bright Eyes has not liked it but I got a little dump truck involved and put dishes in the back of the truck and zoomed it to him across the kitchen. Yesterday, he got up from breakfast saying, "Let's do chocolate jobs!!" and worked really hard.
"Mum. Look at me. I'm in it. He's doing it," sang out Bright Eyes. We had a great laugh. (I wasn't laughing quite so much when I poured a cupful of sand out of his shoes later...)
He had a great social day today. I was delighted to see that lots of children said goodbye affectionately to him today. And I've noticed a couple of other good interactions with children in the last week.
We were in a playground this week and he saw a little boy about two and a half years old. I saw him look at the boy, point to my husband and say “My dad”. Then he pointed to me and said, “mum”. It was as if he was saying, “Hey, those are my parents.”
On another topic entirely...
In order to be less rushed in the morning, we are getting up ½ hr earlier so we all have more time to do what we need to. We also have time to do what I’m calling “Chocolate family jobs”.
So far, it’s just been unpacking the dishwasher. All five of us go to do it. Then afterwards, we all have a family hug together and get a small piece of chocolate.
Four out of five days Bright Eyes has not liked it but I got a little dump truck involved and put dishes in the back of the truck and zoomed it to him across the kitchen. Yesterday, he got up from breakfast saying, "Let's do chocolate jobs!!" and worked really hard.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Quotable
Overheard while on holidays:
After being told to wear shoes on the grass because it had prickles in it: "The grass has got freckles."
"Look at the foams," pointing to the ocean waves which were white with foam.
"McDonalds has a great playground Daddy," was the first thing he said one morning at breakfast, the day after he had been out with grandparents.
After being told to wear shoes on the grass because it had prickles in it: "The grass has got freckles."
"Look at the foams," pointing to the ocean waves which were white with foam.
"McDonalds has a great playground Daddy," was the first thing he said one morning at breakfast, the day after he had been out with grandparents.
Home from hols
We made it! Two weeks away at two different locations and it was relatively trauma-free.
We have returned with the following achievements to crow about:
Bright Eyes is first-step toilet trained! And it was so easy! All we did was take off his nappies and let him run around the house nunga-punga. He simply took himself to the toilet when he needed to go, and even managed a big, grown-up 'stand up wee' on occasion.
There were a couple of accidents, but really he did very well, even using toilets at other people's houses and in shopping centres.
I say first-step, because we still have a little way to go. He asks for a nappy when he knows something bigger is coming, but that's fine with me for now. And we put a nappy on him once he's asleep because I can't trust his night-time bladder, but that will improve too. Also, he still isn't in his undies. I eventually decided that the undies were a 'B' issue, and he could toilet train without them, so he's a bit breezy down below, but hey!
I am amazed at how easy it was, and feeling very blessed. He was obviously ready.
His second achievement was taking to regularly eating two new things - corned beef and gourmet sausages (ie. not the regular supermarket soy-filled pap, but sausages with real meat and *gasp* even some vegetables in them!)
His third achievement was a clothing challenge. With his grandma, he chose and put on a new T-shirt. Sounds normal right? Well, this t-shirt has a picture on it! This is unheard of for Bright Eyes. But he has kept wearing it and really likes it.
We have returned with the following achievements to crow about:
Bright Eyes is first-step toilet trained! And it was so easy! All we did was take off his nappies and let him run around the house nunga-punga. He simply took himself to the toilet when he needed to go, and even managed a big, grown-up 'stand up wee' on occasion.
There were a couple of accidents, but really he did very well, even using toilets at other people's houses and in shopping centres.
I say first-step, because we still have a little way to go. He asks for a nappy when he knows something bigger is coming, but that's fine with me for now. And we put a nappy on him once he's asleep because I can't trust his night-time bladder, but that will improve too. Also, he still isn't in his undies. I eventually decided that the undies were a 'B' issue, and he could toilet train without them, so he's a bit breezy down below, but hey!
I am amazed at how easy it was, and feeling very blessed. He was obviously ready.
His second achievement was taking to regularly eating two new things - corned beef and gourmet sausages (ie. not the regular supermarket soy-filled pap, but sausages with real meat and *gasp* even some vegetables in them!)
His third achievement was a clothing challenge. With his grandma, he chose and put on a new T-shirt. Sounds normal right? Well, this t-shirt has a picture on it! This is unheard of for Bright Eyes. But he has kept wearing it and really likes it.
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