It’s been a long and very stressful week here at Lizzie’s Home. I’m physically and emotionally exhausted, and I’m ready for a bit of fun, thankyouverymuch :)
My darling boy, Master J, turns ‘double digits’ on Saturday. How can I be the mother of a ten year old? Oh, that’s right - Nineteen Year Old Lizzie remembers. The twenty-eight hour posterior labour. The conehead (his, not mine). The resulting agony when peeing. Those things are seared into my brain forever.
J has gone through more than the average ten year old to get to where he is now. The autism has been both a blessing and (I’m afraid to say), a curse at times. But it’s funny - all those tears and heartache in the early years were eventually replaced with real, honest-to-God, amazing achievements. I don’t remember every single nappy I changed (of many thousands) but I remember the day he first peed in the potty (he was almost 6. It happens people). I don’t remember specific nights of wakefulness, but I remember (more often than I can count) tucking him in as I went to bed, marvelling at the difference in composure he has when he’s asleep. And it’s not just the usual joke about children being devils when they’re awake and angels when they sleep, LOL. There’s a peace about him that generally isn’t present during the day. His overworked, overstimulated brain gets a chance to go to ’standby’ for a change.
I remember my fair share of bad times, don’t get me wrong. There was a period of about two years, right after he was diagnosed (at 3 ½)where his frustrations over lack of verbal communication mixed with a misunderstanding of normal social cues resulted in some really tricky moments. I cried alot those two years. But it got better.
This child of mine spoke his first word at 2 ½. At age three, at his first autism assessment, he had just a dozen words. At 3 ½ (eventual diagnosis), a mere 50. Take your typical, normally-developing three-and-a-half year old. Imagine packing all the wonder in those little eyes into fifty words. Try doing it yourself. How frustrating it must have been! And yet somehow, sometime during the year he was three, J taught himself to sight-read. My mind still boggles at this. His expressive communication was far, far below his peers. His internal comprehension, we were to find out, was not. You might wonder how we were able to determine he could read when he had such a limited vocabulary. Well, at first we thought his repeated words were echolalia, taken from our repeated readings of his favourite books. Then we started noticing him looking at newspapers, cereal boxes, street signs in neighbourhoods we’d never been to - and pointing and repeating the word. So we began to test him. We wrote out his favourite stories in our own handwriting and he could read the words, even when we deliberately put them out of order. And it just snowballed from there. He developed what would later become a favourite activity - a love for game shows. The first of these was, funnily enough, Wheel of Fortune, from which he actually learned the beginnings of spelling. Of course, with all this reading came more and more words and his vocabulary shot ahead. By the end of his kindergarten year (kindy is age 4 here…preschool everywhere else?) he had a good level of verbal communication, considering his earlier limitations. He could read a set of instructions and do them, even if the sentence was not read out aloud to him or he didn’t speak the words aloud himself.
J improved steadily from there. At his ‘big school’ entry examination with an Education Department psychologist (standard procedure in my state for special needs kids - it helps determine the best schooling option for them) J scored in the FIRST PERCENTILE for everything. Every single thing. In certain areas, his development was stated to be as low as a 14 month old child (he was then nearly 5). We chose not to put him in a separate special school but to ’shelter educate’ him in a small special ed classroom (max somewhere around 10-12 students, with one full time teacher and one SSO, so the student/teacher ratio was 1:5 or 1:6) within a mainstream school. He’s been in this situation for the last five years, and has thrived. He gets the extra attention he needs during lesson time but interacts socially with the other kids at recess. As you might have read a few days ago, his class went on a school camp with two other (regular) classrooms. I love this arrangement.
And in the years that he’s been in this environment, we’ve been incredibly grateful to discover that not only has he (so far) avoided the more common ‘piggyback conditions’ with his autism (mutism, epilepsy, intellectual disability - the last of which ¾ of autism spectrum kids are said to suffer, from very mild to severe - and the list goes on) but he has been deemed high-functioning autistic with talents in maths and reading well above his year level. How lucky are we?
As a nineteen year old new mother, I thought I knew everything. I knew nothing, LOL. Ten years in real time has aged me more like twenty (:P) but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
I mean, how many parents get to witness multiple miracles?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween In Australia
In my area, neighbourhood kids are trying their darndest to get Halloween off the ground.
Generally speaking, Australia is pretty lukewarm on the whole Halloween thing. Trick or treating is still a bit of a novelty, at least in my area, and you’re far more likely to hit a house whose occupants stare at you as though you’re crazy. Like most things though, we’re influenced by American culture and so the stores carry the Halloween paraphernalia and the supermarkets highlight products that would do well as ‘treats’ for the door-knockers.
I grew up reading about Halloween as an ‘American tradition’ but never celebrating it. Your fall holiday is our spring conundrum, so there’s no ‘harvest’ feel to this time of the year. It’s getting warmer, not colder. Perhaps that’s got something to do with it. Either way, trick or treating is still a bit of a weird concept down here. Doesn’t stop the local kids trying though!
When we were caught out two years in a row with no candy to give out (I wanted to remind the kids who knocked on my door those years that technically-speaking, Australia doesn’t celebrate Halloween, but instead gave them little boxes of sultanas (raisins) because that was all I had to hand - we were terribly popular for that decision!) I finally gave up. I started making sure I had candy on hand because lets face it, I like being one of the only people on our street who bother. Talented Hubby just shakes his head. He thinks I’m a sucker and that because of the hit-and-miss nature of trick-or-treating down here, the kids all get together and mark sucker-houses on a big map to know which ones to hit the following year, LOL. We don’t go out ourselves. It’s just not worth dragging three kids up and down the surrounding streets and being rejected at 80% of the houses. But the kids get a kick out of handing stuff out. That’s Halloween to us.
We don’t usually get many people. This year I had a random boy on a bike (no costume, unless he was Skater Boy?) trying to cash in on the ‘free stuff’ idea (I later saw him at the supermarket with friends, fistfuls of recently purchased candy of their own), a group of four children (thankfully supervised by their father) who actually made the effort to dress up, three Indian boys from up the street who arrived at 10:15 (again, no costume) and most disturbingly, two young teenage girls (14 or so?) dressed as Playboy Bunnies complete with fishnet stockings, leotards (and cleavage), bunny tails and ears. I did not see their parents anywhere.
So I gave out candy, and probably earned myself the no. 1 spot on the Sucker List. But it was fun :)
And we’ve only got like a garbage can full of leftover candy…sigh.
Generally speaking, Australia is pretty lukewarm on the whole Halloween thing. Trick or treating is still a bit of a novelty, at least in my area, and you’re far more likely to hit a house whose occupants stare at you as though you’re crazy. Like most things though, we’re influenced by American culture and so the stores carry the Halloween paraphernalia and the supermarkets highlight products that would do well as ‘treats’ for the door-knockers.
I grew up reading about Halloween as an ‘American tradition’ but never celebrating it. Your fall holiday is our spring conundrum, so there’s no ‘harvest’ feel to this time of the year. It’s getting warmer, not colder. Perhaps that’s got something to do with it. Either way, trick or treating is still a bit of a weird concept down here. Doesn’t stop the local kids trying though!
When we were caught out two years in a row with no candy to give out (I wanted to remind the kids who knocked on my door those years that technically-speaking, Australia doesn’t celebrate Halloween, but instead gave them little boxes of sultanas (raisins) because that was all I had to hand - we were terribly popular for that decision!) I finally gave up. I started making sure I had candy on hand because lets face it, I like being one of the only people on our street who bother. Talented Hubby just shakes his head. He thinks I’m a sucker and that because of the hit-and-miss nature of trick-or-treating down here, the kids all get together and mark sucker-houses on a big map to know which ones to hit the following year, LOL. We don’t go out ourselves. It’s just not worth dragging three kids up and down the surrounding streets and being rejected at 80% of the houses. But the kids get a kick out of handing stuff out. That’s Halloween to us.
We don’t usually get many people. This year I had a random boy on a bike (no costume, unless he was Skater Boy?) trying to cash in on the ‘free stuff’ idea (I later saw him at the supermarket with friends, fistfuls of recently purchased candy of their own), a group of four children (thankfully supervised by their father) who actually made the effort to dress up, three Indian boys from up the street who arrived at 10:15 (again, no costume) and most disturbingly, two young teenage girls (14 or so?) dressed as Playboy Bunnies complete with fishnet stockings, leotards (and cleavage), bunny tails and ears. I did not see their parents anywhere.
So I gave out candy, and probably earned myself the no. 1 spot on the Sucker List. But it was fun :)
And we’ve only got like a garbage can full of leftover candy…sigh.
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Man Never Ceases To Amaze Me
So today I was talking with Talented Hubby about Christmas. Specifically, presents for the children. I’m over the ‘lots and lots of stuff’ thing so this year I thought we’d just do a stocking plus one or two larger items. Top of the list (well my list anyway) was bikes for all three kids (they have been dealing with ‘too small/rusty’ for many years…we’ve never really done the ‘bikes for Christmas’ thing), desks for their rooms (J currently has his own room, but Boof and Moo share and we’re looking to get Boof into the spare room by Christmas….hopefully) and Guitar Hero World Tour.
Talented Hubby may have had a smidgeon of influence on the last one. Myself too, LOL.
Then suddenly (right about the time I was thinking to myself “We really should get to Ikea. They’ll have basics desks for, like, fifty cents”) TH pipes up with,
“I was thinking maybe we might get the kids a puppy.”
Now, for my subsequently shocked reaction to mean anything at all, you have to know that the kids have been actively campaigning for a dog for YEARS. Must say, me too. We’ve had logistical problems that have prevented us from doing the ‘dog thing’ to this point but the ‘one day we’ll get a dog, but not right now’ movement was more or less spearheaded by Talented Hubby. Me? I could find a way to keep a dog just about anywhere. Mr Practical? Not so much.
After picking myself up off the floor, we talked about breeds. Whenever we’ve spoken of a puppy in the past, it has always been with a larger breed in mind - a Lab or Golden Retriever. For smaller dogs, I was always partial to Beagles, but one time TH found an article referencing them as being one of the stupidest breeds of dog and that was the end of that (stupid huh? Bet those airport drug mules don’t think so! And quite honestly, the thought of a dog being able to sniff out drugs did rather appeal to me as we head into the scary teenage years).
So I have a question for you all. What recommendations could you give me for a breed of dog that satisfies these points:
MUST be a breed consistently good with kids (ie, it is one of its main characteristics)
needs to be small to medium in size. Not a chihuahua, because TH says he needs to feel like a man if he walks it. Preferably not a fluff-ball either.
Short-haired if possible, as we’re not keen on the shedding issue.
In an ideal world, non-yappy. You know how some breeds are just annoying? Yeah, not one of those.
Suited to a smaller yard. Not a tiny yard, just small.
Suited to moderate activity level. Aussie Sheep Dog clearly not on our agenda (though sometimes I’d love to round the kids up like sheep, so perhaps not a deal-breaker? LOL)
Any help you can give us would be much appreciated. We definitely don’t want to foul this up and we’ve NEVER had a dog (or any pet for that matter, not even a goldfish) in all the years we’ve been together, so this will be an entirely new experience for the kids as well - but we’re excited about that part of it. And I should point out (because no doubt TH will tell me this over and over in the next few days) we have not fully decided to go ahead with the dog-buyin’ plan just yet. But knowing we have certain options in regards to suitable breeds for our needs will sure help to make that decision.
Talented Hubby may have had a smidgeon of influence on the last one. Myself too, LOL.
Then suddenly (right about the time I was thinking to myself “We really should get to Ikea. They’ll have basics desks for, like, fifty cents”) TH pipes up with,
“I was thinking maybe we might get the kids a puppy.”
Now, for my subsequently shocked reaction to mean anything at all, you have to know that the kids have been actively campaigning for a dog for YEARS. Must say, me too. We’ve had logistical problems that have prevented us from doing the ‘dog thing’ to this point but the ‘one day we’ll get a dog, but not right now’ movement was more or less spearheaded by Talented Hubby. Me? I could find a way to keep a dog just about anywhere. Mr Practical? Not so much.
After picking myself up off the floor, we talked about breeds. Whenever we’ve spoken of a puppy in the past, it has always been with a larger breed in mind - a Lab or Golden Retriever. For smaller dogs, I was always partial to Beagles, but one time TH found an article referencing them as being one of the stupidest breeds of dog and that was the end of that (stupid huh? Bet those airport drug mules don’t think so! And quite honestly, the thought of a dog being able to sniff out drugs did rather appeal to me as we head into the scary teenage years).
So I have a question for you all. What recommendations could you give me for a breed of dog that satisfies these points:
MUST be a breed consistently good with kids (ie, it is one of its main characteristics)
needs to be small to medium in size. Not a chihuahua, because TH says he needs to feel like a man if he walks it. Preferably not a fluff-ball either.
Short-haired if possible, as we’re not keen on the shedding issue.
In an ideal world, non-yappy. You know how some breeds are just annoying? Yeah, not one of those.
Suited to a smaller yard. Not a tiny yard, just small.
Suited to moderate activity level. Aussie Sheep Dog clearly not on our agenda (though sometimes I’d love to round the kids up like sheep, so perhaps not a deal-breaker? LOL)
Any help you can give us would be much appreciated. We definitely don’t want to foul this up and we’ve NEVER had a dog (or any pet for that matter, not even a goldfish) in all the years we’ve been together, so this will be an entirely new experience for the kids as well - but we’re excited about that part of it. And I should point out (because no doubt TH will tell me this over and over in the next few days) we have not fully decided to go ahead with the dog-buyin’ plan just yet. But knowing we have certain options in regards to suitable breeds for our needs will sure help to make that decision.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
So Aussie You May Just See Me Wrestle Something Reptilian
(close up kangaroo photo)
“How you doin’?”
Master J (and Hero Dad) returned yesterday from an overnight school camp to a wildlife sanctuary. They weren’t too far away, but it was J’s first school overnighter and we weren’t too sure how he’d go, so we put our hand up (okay, I put TH’s hand up, LOL) to be a parent volunteer.
Apart from some minor issues, TH tells me J did quite well. He was rather unimpressed with the amount of walking they were required to do but loved holding and patting the native animals.
(kangaroo up tree)
“Well, if you really must insist on pointing that infernal contraption at me sir, you shall have to deal with the rear end view!”
Talented Hubby tells me this koala was a bit of a daredevil, crawling out on the skinniest branches to get to the leaves. On a side note - have you ever heard a koala’s mating call? I grew up on a small hobby farm in country Victoria and we would often hear this loud, bellowing trumpet sound coming from somewhere amongst the tree clusters. Scared me senseless, not helped by older brothers who whispered horror stories to me about pigs with tusks the size of my leg, just waiting to gore me to death (my brothers were delightful creatures, weren’t they? :P) It was years before I realised the sounds were NOT wild boar getting ready to barrel out of the bush and eat me alive, but were the sounds of a male koala gettin’ ready to find himself a lady koala and have a bit of a roll around in the hay eucalyptus leaves. Not altogether different from the mating calls of modern day construction workers when a pretty lady walks past, really.
(emu chewing on finger)
“Mmmm - finger food! My favourite!”
I’ve never understood emus. I know my duty as an Aussie is to love them and everything but there’s something about their beady little Evil Eyes and funny “I’ve got a hairball in my throat” glug-glug sound that makes me want to run for the hills. And they move fast. I don’t like animals who can move in unpredictable ways.
Except for cats. Cats are hilarious. Spend an hour on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean, LOL.
(albino kangaroo)
“So that’s when I saw it. The ghost of St Bernard! Next thing I knew, I looked like Steve Martin!”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an albino kangaroo before. TH said they even had their own little posse. Think they get much ribbin’ from the other ’roos?
(J with snake)
“I wonder what will strike more fear into Mum’s heart? This freaky snake or
THE FACT THAT HER FIRSTBORN IS TOUCHING IT?”
This photo? The VERY REASON I am glad it was Talented Hubby and not me who went. I can’t even look at that photo (it took me twelve minutes just to resize and upload!) without feeling the heebie-jeebies and a cold sweat wash over me. I have a morbid fear of snakes. At least this one was big. Baby snakes scare me worse. Don’t ask me why, it’s far too gross.
I’m actually really grateful for TH this week. He took time off work to volunteer for this thing. The poor guy didn’t quite understand what an overnight trip with 56 fourth and fifth-graders would be like until he experienced it (LOL), but he scored quite a few brownie points for attempting it. Even if he does say it’s the last time :P
“How you doin’?”
Master J (and Hero Dad) returned yesterday from an overnight school camp to a wildlife sanctuary. They weren’t too far away, but it was J’s first school overnighter and we weren’t too sure how he’d go, so we put our hand up (okay, I put TH’s hand up, LOL) to be a parent volunteer.
Apart from some minor issues, TH tells me J did quite well. He was rather unimpressed with the amount of walking they were required to do but loved holding and patting the native animals.
(kangaroo up tree)
“Well, if you really must insist on pointing that infernal contraption at me sir, you shall have to deal with the rear end view!”
Talented Hubby tells me this koala was a bit of a daredevil, crawling out on the skinniest branches to get to the leaves. On a side note - have you ever heard a koala’s mating call? I grew up on a small hobby farm in country Victoria and we would often hear this loud, bellowing trumpet sound coming from somewhere amongst the tree clusters. Scared me senseless, not helped by older brothers who whispered horror stories to me about pigs with tusks the size of my leg, just waiting to gore me to death (my brothers were delightful creatures, weren’t they? :P) It was years before I realised the sounds were NOT wild boar getting ready to barrel out of the bush and eat me alive, but were the sounds of a male koala gettin’ ready to find himself a lady koala and have a bit of a roll around in the hay eucalyptus leaves. Not altogether different from the mating calls of modern day construction workers when a pretty lady walks past, really.
(emu chewing on finger)
“Mmmm - finger food! My favourite!”
I’ve never understood emus. I know my duty as an Aussie is to love them and everything but there’s something about their beady little Evil Eyes and funny “I’ve got a hairball in my throat” glug-glug sound that makes me want to run for the hills. And they move fast. I don’t like animals who can move in unpredictable ways.
Except for cats. Cats are hilarious. Spend an hour on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean, LOL.
(albino kangaroo)
“So that’s when I saw it. The ghost of St Bernard! Next thing I knew, I looked like Steve Martin!”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an albino kangaroo before. TH said they even had their own little posse. Think they get much ribbin’ from the other ’roos?
(J with snake)
“I wonder what will strike more fear into Mum’s heart? This freaky snake or
THE FACT THAT HER FIRSTBORN IS TOUCHING IT?”
This photo? The VERY REASON I am glad it was Talented Hubby and not me who went. I can’t even look at that photo (it took me twelve minutes just to resize and upload!) without feeling the heebie-jeebies and a cold sweat wash over me. I have a morbid fear of snakes. At least this one was big. Baby snakes scare me worse. Don’t ask me why, it’s far too gross.
I’m actually really grateful for TH this week. He took time off work to volunteer for this thing. The poor guy didn’t quite understand what an overnight trip with 56 fourth and fifth-graders would be like until he experienced it (LOL), but he scored quite a few brownie points for attempting it. Even if he does say it’s the last time :P
Saturday, October 25, 2008
'Tis The Season To Be Craftin'
I’m tired, and this awful headache won’t quit, so here’s a ‘cheat post’ to sink your teeth into - appropriate too, because I got this year’s Christmas crafty edition of Better Homes and Gardens just a week or two ago :)
Oh No! It’s Starting Again!
Now….where did I put my felt stash? LOL.
Oh No! It’s Starting Again!
Now….where did I put my felt stash? LOL.
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