about Nanna

10 February 2016

IEP and school progress......

knowing what they need is the first step,
the second is making sure they gain it.
The school called to set out an appointment for A.J.'s new IEP plan.
After having years of fearing these dreaded meetings, knowing I would be there alone facing a team of so called 'professionals' dictating their opinions of what was best for the school and what was expected from A.J. without accepting any input from me or for what was best for A.J. 
I would spend days correlating information and evidence of what would be best suited for A.J.'s needs, plus providing proof to why I would state their demands were unreasonable.
The emotional outcome of these meeting would leave me drained for days, and stressing about how I could better support my child through what should have been an enjoyable life experience.

03 February 2016

Having Moments......

A.J. and our little Laura,
she's becoming so helpful  
Facing an emotional roller-coaster for any reason can be a hard thing to handle in normal situations, so when we add the sensory and anxiety issues our ASD kids face it becomes a whole different ballgame. 

Unfortunately today at school was one of those days for A.J. and the result was evident after picking him up in the afternoon.
The moment happened after trying to hold his emotions in check all day, then when finally making it to the safety of our car with someone he can trust to help out he had a relapse and lost emotional control. 

28 January 2016

Meetings, appointments, therapies and treatments

sharing our love with A.J.
the moment we were blessed to have him permanently in our lives.
At the start of every year we have the tedious task of gathering together the long list of services and supports A.J. accesses throughout the year and begin organising new referrals, updated reports, to then arrange new appointments and meetings for the resources that are working and still required, or if we need new direction and assistance to then begin researching for what is required and available.
Once we have correlated everything together and happy with what is needed, we then begin the task of fitting everything in with the family schedule.

24 January 2016

Finding easy ways to survive and enjoy homework sessions...

a well set out study area
makes it more encouraging 
Every family that has faced their child's journey through education, stepping onto the homework path, will admit that it is not the most exciting part of the learning experience.
So with only a few days left before the beginning of yet another school year, I thought we could look at the lighter side of coping with the dreaded Homework task.

All too often our children come home tired and grizzly wanting little to do with what they had just faced at school all day, opting to head outdoors or chill-out in their own manner.
Add to that the stress sometimes faced with our special needs kids having different forms of learning difficulties, sensory sensitivities, etc, and it can become a recipe for disaster.

15 January 2016

Give Me a Simple Life

simplicity - serenity 
The past few days has found me with very mixed emotions for no apparent reason, and the draining feeling had me struggling to get motivated, so I went with the flow and just chilled doing minimal tidying and cleaning as I wandered around the house like a lost lamb.
I really don't know where my emotions are at, as though I could easily burst into tears for no reason, with my head in a fog, struggling to get my thoughts together, with everything I say and do seeming to go wrong.

08 January 2016

some days are just better fast-forwarding.....

Today has been one of those days that we would rather fast forward and then say I'm glad that's over......
Sometimes I wonder how things can become so crappy.
Facing a day of one bad thing after another I ask "Did I do something wrong?" ...surely not!
I woke today in such a bubbly mood hopeful of all the things I could achieve and more.

With A.J. in his holiday mode I had allowed him the pleasure of sleeping in, which was also a benefit for me, being able to enjoy the silence and calm.

05 January 2016

Appreciating the Good things in Life.

acknowledging the facebook page FATMUMSLIM for the picture
While scrolling through my Facebook news-feed I came across a post from my Niece with a pic showing an appropriate challenge that I just couldn't refuse to join in with it on my personal page. This was the pic connected with it.....

As this had shown up on 3rd of January I had a few pictures to post and catch up to date.
-1st photo...  black and white...I posted of course our cute little furbaby Laura
-2nd... What i did today...  was one I took on that day of A.J. blurred out as I had tried to sneak a pic of him in bed playing his PlayStation, although he wasn't in the pic-taking-mood so he jumped out to the other side of his bed, thus the result 
-3rd... Water...  the inside of my washing machine that although did not contain water at that moment, still requires water to activate.
This left me the rest of the month to create some life altering memories, or at least the reality of our life that is.