Sorry!

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written. Life as usual has been fairly hectic but not for any major reason, just life with three kids, a dog who needs walking, a cat who needs medical assistance and a husband who works long hours then sails every Saturday. Anyhow…..

Beth’s muddling along mood wise. She’s still not happy at school. She has a new aide (sort of, she’s been on Beth before) and they’ve been doing lots of lovely things together, anywhere but in the classroom. They do cooking and they’re making a memory book which all the grade six kids have to do about their time at Primary School. I sent along some lovely scrapbooking paper so I’m looking forward to seeing the finished result. Beth isn’t particularly interested in anything and mopes around a lot, taking herself to the sick bay at whim as if it’s her bedroom. Her aide had told me last week that she was still pretty miserable and I ended up bursting into tears. I don’t know what else I can do, she has changed medication, we’re aware of how she is and she is almost a teenager so maybe it’s how she’s going to be for a while? I did speak with the paediatrician about maybe her meds not being the right ones for her and he wants to see how she goes for a few more weeks. The problem with that is that it’s most obvious how she’s feeling when at school and she’ll be on school holidays and starting a new school soon so we wont know what is nerves and / or annoyance at the new school and what actually is her medication.

We went to Sensational Kids last Wednesday. Beth had an excellent session with Rod with all three of us drawing a design for us each to make out of some sort of foam bally things. It moulds like playdough but is made up of tiny balls of foam. Beth did well, not only at making the models but at giving directions. Once again Rod explained about not asking Beth direct questions but instead being very vague or making statements and making Beth work harder at understanding what you want from her. When it came time to see Whiskas (not her real name) Beth ended up playing in the ball pit while Whiskas and I talked about our issues. Once again I ended up in tears, I hate thinking of Beth feeling helpless and me not being able to do anything about it. Whiskas suggested seeing a psychologist or a mental health professional which I like the idea of as it does seem to be an emotional issue. I’m also going to do some social stories, one about primary school and one about a new high school, talking about another girl in Beth’s situation to try and alleviate her fears of where she is and where she’s going to. I don’t see the point of seeing a mental health person until after Beth’s started at Emerson as we’re pre-empting issues that we’re not actually sure she’ll have yet.

We’ve spent the last two Saturdays at my friend Catriona’s whose son Jose has aspergers. He’s the one that Beth quite fancies who has a house down at Inverloch. They live in Emerald and we always have a lovely time when we go there. This week Bec came with her kids Will and Kasey so Will, my Bill and Jose played boys things, Bridie and Kasey rolled around on the grass and did lots of drawing and Beth watched dvds and kept annoying the neighbours dog who she christened Sparkles even though her name is Bella. Cat’s husband Ian came home during the afternoon and he and Beth delighted in playing The Upside Down Show. Ian pretended he had a remote control and made Beth go slow and fast which highly amused Bec!

I’ll leave you with a couple of amazing Beth facts and a Beth funny.

Beth’s aide sent her a Disney Movie theme song quiz last week. It was on You Tube and there were the beginnings of 20 songs. You had to guess which movies they belonged to. Well…. Everybody else was saying they got eight or ten right and how hard it was. Miss Smartypants not only knew the name of the movies but the names of the songs to 18 out of 20! When we went to bed that night the beginning of Meet the Parents was on. Beth said “That sounds like Randy Newman singing.” Next thing on the screen it’s telling us that yes indeed it is Randy Newman. He must have sung a Disney score as Beth studies everything Disney. I wonder how we could channel that knowledge.

My funny is that at assembly last week our principal was reading out the awards. Beth got one a few weeks ago so I knew she wasn’t due one. They read the awards out then announce the child’s name. Well it must have been a good write up because just as the name was to be read we heard “Beth O’Connor” come from her majesty in the audience! My God she’s funny! Nobody minds as they know what she’s like. She sure does amuse everybody!

About Sarah

Mother of an autistic child wanting to write about my personal experiences
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *