Year 11!

Sorry it’s been a while. (I seem to start most of my posts like that these days!) I can’t believe it’s February already. I also can’t believe that Beth is in the equivalent of year 11!

We had lovely holidays. They were nice and quiet as we didn’t do much. The kids are of a lovely age where they entertain themselves for the most part. Bridie still finds it all a bit challenging and needs a bit more, but Beth and Bill would be happy if I just let them play and watch tv all day. Which for some of the time I must admit I did! If we did go out they’d often want a jarmie day the next day (wearing their pyjamas). Paul took the younger ones camping for a couple of days so Beth and I had sleepovers and ate pancakes and lasagne. So not much to report really.

She’s doing essential cooking this year for her VCAL subject. Not that she’d ever let me know but I think she quite enjoys it. She seems happy to go off to school and happy to tell me what she’s done while there. They don’t start their actual cooking until next week. From Monday they go shopping to Coles and buy the ingredients they need for the rest of the week. I told her that my friend’s son did this subject last year and they went to Sydney for their camp and surprisingly she seemed quite excited about the prospect. Considering that she hasn’t been on camp for the last three years I consider that to be a huge step in the right direction. Unfortunately she’s had a cold most of the week so yesterday when cooking she had to sit it out. I ended up keeping her at home today which was a bummer because I was to return to art class and piano lessons this morning. Still, it’s nice to have an enforced day at home with my big girl.

We went to the dentist in the holidays. We go to Smile Place in Tecoma for anybody that may be looking for a dentist in the Dandenong Ranges. They’re amazing there. So, so good with Beth, and with a scared old mum like me who needs work done too. All the kids had checkups and all were clear, except for Beth. We were told she needed a filling, and a big one too. So big that they scheduled an hour appointment just for her. Last week off we went and she was good as gold. She wanted the pen thing that they can click on the jaw to make it seem numb. Unfortunately they had ordered it in but it hadn’t arrived. She’d clearly gotten wise to the fact that even though the fairy juice was in the syringe it wasn’t just going to be dripped on to her gum but rather be given to her as a needle. She said no, there was no way she would have it, she’d rather have the filling done with no pain relief. And she did! It took quite some time but she preferred that than the alternative. I was amazed. They said that often kids with autism feel things differently. Things that barely hurt others can be extremely painful in their minds. And other things such as a broken arm or something else serious can barely register at times. I was so impressed with Beth as she handled it beautifully.

We had a funny incident last week. For some reason there was a bus running late who pick up from the same bus stop as Beth’s in the morning. Beth got on this bus so I was told, and some of the other kids went to also, but got her off of it. Paul dropped her that morning and was explaining that it was a new bus driver on that bus so he wasn’t sure of the kids he needed to pick up. When speaking to a friend though, I got the full story. Being a new bus driver he had his clipboard ready and asked Beth if she was on the role. She apparently took his clipboard and said ‘oh you’re new here, let me do the role for you, I know all the kids names!’ When told to get off the bus she then took the clipboard too. The poor driver must have wondered what planet he was picking up from! Serves him right for being late I suppose!

I’ll leave you with a Beth funny. She’s been really quite amusing lately and a bit cheeky. She was running up the corridor and I told her to stop and walk. I asked her why she was running and she said ‘You don’t have to interrogate me you know, you’re not a cop!’ Cheeky bugger!

About Sarah

Mother of an autistic child wanting to write about my personal experiences
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