Friday 26 February 2010

Touchy Feely

Sam is a very tactile, touchy feely kind of a boy. From what I have researched, I think that he is under responsive to touch which is why he is always seemingly seeking out new 'feels'! One of his favourite things is sand, he loves to run it through his fingers! He LOVES all different textures.

One day at nursery when Andy picked him up, instead of sand in the sand tray they had put cous cous in it. We thought what a great idea! So we picked up a large container and change it daily with different bits. So far he's had the cous cous, a mixture of beans and also lentils. He loves this and spends loads of time playing in this tub.

Here he is with his beans, strangely allowing William in for a quick play as well! William gets a bit enthusiastic with the tub and usually there are beans flying everywhere!






William watches every move Sam makes and you can tell by him trying to leap off your lap that he's dying to run after him and have a play. We are encouraging gentle interaction between them which so far seems to be working. Sam tolerates him getting closer and closer, but only for a short time and he has to be in the right mood.

Monday 22 February 2010

Snow!

Well yesterday we woke up to a blanket of snow and even more falling. Sam was actually well enough this time and had the right gear to go out in it. So we took him around the block a little and in our back alley. You could tell that snow was the best stuff since sliced bread to him and he loved it. He touched it every now and then but the main game was just to shuffle through it. He was not happy about having to come inside. I for one am a little tired of all this freezing weather. Roll on summer when I can get out my sandals!!

Here is Sam flapping away at Andy throwing snowballs in the air!








William has been a good boy this week and slept through the night about 4 times now. You would think that would mean I was getting some sleep but no. Sam has been waking every night at about 3am and not really going back to sleep so no sleep for either me or Andy! Hopefully this is just a phase because I neeeeed my sleep.

One of the things I learned at the NAS meeting I attended was that we could be entitled to claim disability living allowance (DLA) from the government for Sam. I hadn't even thought of this as we haven't had his diagnosis yet, but you can apply without it and he does fit the requirements. The form is enormous and very daunting and from what I'm told is an absolute nightmare to fill in in that it needs to be worded absolutely correctly but also that it is all about what your child can't do in comparison to other children his age so is emotionally hard. Not looking forward to this at all, but the money would come in very handy for his care and could even pay for some extra nursery sessions. We can only apply and see what happens!

Friday 12 February 2010

Moving Forward

Eek! I've not blogged for quite a while now, apologies! But really, not much has been going on till this last week so you've not missed much!

The boys both have colds again. Sam has been having tantrums again, but definitely not as bad as the last time he had a cold. I think a lot of the tantrums are to do with the lack of communication as well.

Sam's been at nursery again. Andy has dropped him off the last few weeks and he's been fine for the most part. This last time we both went to pick him up and the kids were all playing outside so we could see Sam through the fence. He had a big grin plastered on his face and was running around like an idiot! Even more importantly it looked almost like he was paying a bit of attention to the other kids (even chasing a couple!). It was so lovely to see him enjoying himself.

He also had an appointment this week with his SaLT. She is absolutely fab, really good with Sam and very honest with me. I know and she knows she can't diagnose him, but it is her opinion that he is autistic. It's a hard thing to hear, but a relief at the same time. At least we feel we have something to work from. She was very reassuring again. She thinks he is very bright and will definitely talk, it just might be the last skill he gains, so I could still be waiting a while to hear "mummy"!
She also told us that she had seen the May list for the children being discussed by the multi agency team and Sam isn't on it, so looks more like it will be towards the end of the year that we may get his diagnosis. Grrr, it's taking so long!

We booked a holiday to Cornwall for the summer holidays which I'm very excited about. The last time we went to Cornwall Sam was 8 months old, so this time we'll be on the lookout for more toddler activities (any suggestions please let me know!) Hopefully we'll get some nice weather so we can hit the beach!

This morning I went to a support meeting for my local branch of the National Autistic Society. The organiser was so welcoming and everyone seemed very nice. I had pictured it as being more of a moral support group (and I'm sure if I needed it, it would have been) but I got so much practical advice and suggestions too. The group were all mums who have diagnosed children. They have been there and done that and I'm sure will help point me in the direction I need to go to get help for Sam. I'm really looking forward to the next meeting and joining in with other activities too.

William is growing bigger everyday (his feet now touch the floor when he is in his baby walker!), is still smiley and now squeals and chuckles too! Everytime we sit him up on the sofa with his back leaning against the sofa he manages to get himself into a sitting position, at least for a few seconds before falling again. I can't believe he is 3 and a half months already!