Out of the comfort zone

We were back in Bute for Easter weekend and it reminded me of this post. A slightly different experience this time. J was still sick (though he’s congested so could be due to mucous), the weather was a bit wetter (though we went out anyway) and the boys are both a bit older. J coped better with staying over night. I had mentioned it throughout the day before we set off, telling him where we were going and that we were staying. Although his understanding is limited, he seemed to make the connection once we got here and was ok to stay. We brought some lights and toys from home with us, which I think helped a little. Him being older and having experienced it before probably helped too. Hopefully progress! The kids enjoyed their weekend and had lots of fun. Happy Easter!

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Upside Mum

As you will know by now we love going outdoors. One place we like to visit is the Isle of Bute and we took a wee trip there recently. J loved the boat trip and had us exhausted from running around after him, while he explored the boat, to make sure he didn’t go over board!

Once we arrived he was happy to go to our accommodation and enjoyed the view of the boats coming and going from the window. We then spent the day exploring the beach and going for a walk along the sea front, splashing in the water and visiting one of the island’s swing parks. J was then happy to return to our flat for a bite to eat and a wee rest.

The problems started when we tried to get him ready for bed.

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Easter Egg Hunt for Motor Skills

This is a great idea for helping kids with listening skills, movements, instructions, etc. We had a big dice for J to roll with different movements on each side and he loved it.

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Starfish Therapies

  

Ok, now don’t judge, but the original inspiration for this idea came from a ski trip I took with some college friends (a year or two after graduation) over Easter weekend.  Two of our friends arranged an ‘adult’ easter egg hunt with jello (of the adult variety) in each Easter egg.  Well we were all like big kids because of course we each had certain colors (and flavors) we wanted to find!

Now, translate this to a kids Egg hunt and here are some ideas:

• You can fill each egg with a different motor skill you want the kid to do and you could have numbers on the egg for number of reps or that could be included on the paper with the skill.  I would also add in fun ones such as ‘play a game on the wii’ where they are still working but think they are playing!

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Easter Bonnet Parade

J’s school had an Easter Bonnet parade today. He had little interest in making one but he did choose some of the decorations which ended up on the hat. After painstakingly sewing on some hanging bunnies, sticking foam rabbits and eggs on and attaching a big carrot and some chocolate eggs I had made something resembling a passable bonnet. B’s was made the night before and he loved trying his on and showing it off. J however would not keep his on his head. He doesn’t really like hats or having his hood up (it’s a sensory issue!) I just hoped he would at least put it on in school. Either way the effort had been made.

The A Word

The A Word – BBC iplayer

After watching the first programme in this new BBC series I’m not entirely sure whether I liked it or not. I suppose it tried to put in a little bit of background as well as developing the story a bit. For me this made some of it a bit random and perhaps unnecessary.

I could, however, relate to some of the issues raised. The way Joe didn’t really join in with the other children at his party, the way he lay down when he didn’t want to blow out his candles, how he fixated on his music, the invites to other people’s parties and dealing with the diagnosis when you receive it.

Starting with the diagnosis.

Ours is not to reason why…

I often find myself watching J as he goes about his day and wondering what he’s thinking, how he feels and why he does things in a certain way. Does he have the same thoughts and feelings as us? Does he process any information in the same way? I know that on the whole he is very happy and seems to have lots of fun, but most of this is a solo venture and mainly doesn’t involve anyone else. Occasionally he looks at us and laughs or smiles to invite us to share in his happiness at what he is doing and sometimes he allows his brother to join him in his adventure. Often though, he does his own thing and plays by his own rules.