Watching Bright Eyes throw an enormous wobbly this morning because we were travelling to preschool in the black car rather than the red car, reminded me of listening to a CD which has a glitch and keeps hopping forwards and back.
"Noooo black car. Nooo. GO away Mummy."
Come on, sweetie. Calm down. Off we go to the car. I'll pick you up.
He came willingly when I carried him, but as we went down the steps, he couldn't cope.
"Jump off the bricks! Jump off the bricks!" (This is something he needs to do when we go out of the door.)
Heading to the car quite happily, then all of a sudden,
"nooo black car. Noo." Runs back to the top of the step.
"Jump off the bricks!"
"No black car..."
If I hadn't been stressed out by it, it would have been an interesting exercise to watch him switch madly between his obsessive thoughts.
In the end, we were going to be late, so I had to pick him up and plonk him in. He took about 15 minutes to calm down at preschool.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Small improvements
Some things I have noticed recently:
Together language
He is using a lot more phrases like, "We did it!" and "Let's do it together" and "Can you help me with this Mum?". It shows he is seeing himself as a partner in our activities, and he is therefore participating more. The other day he stayed for a full half hour helping dad and sister wash the car.
Personal likes and dislikes
Yesterday he spontaneously came out with "I like ham sticks Mum" when I gave him his lunch. Expressing likes is not something he has ever done before.
More control
Shame on me - I lost it yesterday and really yelled at the boys. (They were killing each other). Instead of completely melting down he looked with big eyes and said, "Mummy cross!"
Together language
He is using a lot more phrases like, "We did it!" and "Let's do it together" and "Can you help me with this Mum?". It shows he is seeing himself as a partner in our activities, and he is therefore participating more. The other day he stayed for a full half hour helping dad and sister wash the car.
Personal likes and dislikes
Yesterday he spontaneously came out with "I like ham sticks Mum" when I gave him his lunch. Expressing likes is not something he has ever done before.
More control
Shame on me - I lost it yesterday and really yelled at the boys. (They were killing each other). Instead of completely melting down he looked with big eyes and said, "Mummy cross!"
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Yuck
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.
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.
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."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
