When the Despair Squid comes to town

Since the children and I have been unwell all week we decided to take things slow.

I often think 'oh we have done nothing' and feel a little dejected, then I come to write it all down and see we have been busy in our own ways.

Sam is going through 'interesting times', throw a virus into that and it makes for complex parenting skills to be implemented . So I felt it may be a perfect opportunity to try being fully autonomous this week and observe what the children would do.

Normally I have activities planned , which Owen responds well to this but Sam is reluctant and wary of anything I suggest. This week I had my usual list of projects ready but spent more time asking 'what do you want to do?'. Here's what they chose to do. This was with as much or as little I put from me as they wanted.

There has been copious amounts of research this week using the internet. It appeared quite early on that this was all going to be Marvel related. The threads of this took a few turns. Marvel Lego games , requiring Utube videos and lots of reading to unlock some pesky characters the boys wanted. This involved some input from me when they needed difficult words spelling or they were excited and wanted me to see what they had achieved.

During the gaps where I wasn't needed I baked bread did chores and made these.   http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/07/make-your-own-reusable-peppermint-kitchen-wipes.html
With a puppy who likes to dig they came in very handy for muddy paw prints. They clean absolutely everything so I made a pine and a lavender version. Very Eco friendly and they smell divine!


At various points the children decided that they needed more help and seeing that I was having a cleaning spree they asked if they could help to speed things up, so I would be free to help them sooner. I have no problem with the children helping with chores, all great life skills that they will need and the house was looking much tidier in no time. The boys wanted to concentrate on their bedroom and playroom and did a brilliant job. Then we got back to researching all things Marvel.

Another link we were given by our generous HE friends was  http://marvel.com which has lots of interesting activities, relating to the comic series, including making your comics and numerous print outs, so we spent an afternoon looking at what was on offer.

Sooo up what have we covered so far? Reading, spelling, life skills, social skills, research skills, history, money handling skills and numeracy. In addition the children have read their normal large quantity of books, watched films and talked about everything!

Mid week looked at Picasso's monochrome work and did a mixed media piece. We used painting, printing and drawing techniques. The children found the concept of monochrome hard to grasp and I had a lightbulb moment remembering  I had some temporary tattoos stashed. After a short break, involving copious amounts of tattoos being applied to various body parts we completed this.

We also visited friends, had a lovely play at their new house and had a trip to the park when the boys were feeling a bit less wheezy.

Owen is enjoying getting to know our puppy Shadow better and is learning how to interact with him appropriately. Shadow is responding well and every week we notice great changes in him.


Usually at this time of year I have Halloween activities set up but if I am honest the children have never really expressed a deep interest so I decided to take their lead this week. This involved discussing Halloween, Day of the dead and where these traditions come from. I did have a Halloween evening activity booked but it was cancelled. In a way it was for the best as it was an outdoor activity and with the children's asthma being problematic I think they would have been too tired walking around the woods in the damp air. So a quick change of plans meant going to see 'Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs 2, the 3D version
and a family meal out at Pizza Hut . Both were a resounding success. http://www.cloudy-movie.com/tablet/#right Sam did his usual trick and danced and walked his way through the whole film. He finds it so hard to keep still and we try and go at quieter times so he has more wriggle room.

Halloween throws up many issues for the children. They get very stressed by the whole Trick or Treat thing. In the past they have dressed up but feel uncomfortable within minutes of putting on face  paint or costumes. Often the other people's costumes scare them and they sit in the window with a mixture of excitement and dread at the whole process. Usually it's a case of them throwing all the sweets at the first group of visitors that come to the door, then panicking when other people come and there is none left. No amount of prior prompting helps and for children with processing and social issues it's a bit of a minefield. Blokey doesn't cope well with the whole 'people at the door' thing, either.  On reflection keeping everything as low key as possible worked well and may become a family tradition until the children feel more comfortable with the whole idea.

As the boys had a late night out they decided to have 'a bit of a lie in' today, reading and chatting in bed until Blokey had gone to work. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast around the table together and they declared a 'quiet day' was in order. This always makes me smile, as our days are often busy no matter what. So far our quiet day consists of me helping them with more research , building defences on Clash of Clans, card games and watching the tree surgeons. We even had a chat about what jobs they think they would enjoy and data protection.

The ASD team are still suggesting that Sam would be better placed back in school. They don't say why, or how and discussion with them on the subject leads to the inference that we are somehow 'controlling' Sam's negative feelings about school. Untrue, unfair and when you try to state the case against we are frowned on. At no point have they  offered a better solution to HE, explained what support Sam would be entitled to if he did go back into school or looked at the benefits of the education we are offering him. So how can they judge what's best? These are the many questions I am pondering at present.

You also have to question what actually is their role here. To assess for Autism or to represent a schooling system that failed our children on every level? Even Sam saying himself ( without us present), that he was very unhappy in school has not stopped the endless 'will you consider returning him to school' questions. To say I am finding it stressful and frustrating, is an understatement. All I can do is hope that they finally reach a decision soon and we can carry on doing what we do best without interference and judgement.

Despite if being a difficult week in some respects, it's amazing how many skills we have touched on and I have enjoyed watching the week unfold. I have felt rather low in myself and tired. My blood results are showing an issue which could well be causing a lot of the symptoms I am fighting against currently. I have to wait till next week to see the GP.