The new ear protection is really appreciated!
Christmas Letter 2010
As I read the newsletters from other people, the big difference I notice is "intensity" .... 2010 for us has been a year of almost overwhelming intensity. Not that this is a good thing! In many ways, I'd rather that 2010 had not happened ..... but as well as the bad times, there have been many good times. And good people too! We have shared a lot with Team Kaylee this year. Without the support of the team, I don't think we would have made it through the year ..... there have been several periods where both Naomi & I have felt as though we couldn't keep going. For me, the writing of our "Team-Kaylee" blog (www.team-kaylee.blogspot.com) has been a source of strength .... to be able to talk about all that has been happening helps to put things in perspective. And it makes us feel a little less lonely.
I must pay tribute to the wonderful people who share our home and family - Tina is with us long term .... and Zoe is Kaylia's aupair at present - Sophie and Linda earlier in the year. They share the tough times with us and their encouragement helps us along the way.
For those of you reading this Christmas newsletter who haven't been reading the blog, you'll be wondering "What's been going on???" It all seemed rosey last year! I'll try to summarize the year .... but the summary will miss out on so much .... the blog has it all!
In the 2009 newsletter, we were about to head off on a Bali holiday. The holiday turned into a torrid time .... not a holiday at all. We came home feeling that (because of Kaylia's behavior) we wouldn't be able to go on a holiday again. In hindsight, at that time, Kaylia was going into a period of big changes in emotional temperament .... her anxiety levels were zooming up but we hadn't really noticed it. We were trying to find a medication mix which would help her and from the end of 2009 through a fair bit of 2010, it has been a battle to control Kaylia's anxiety levels .... with medications and with behavior management strategies. Boy ...... we've learned a lot!
Dealing with Kaylia's autism has meant that we have been through some really tough times. The whole year has been an uphill battle which has tested our physical and emotional capacity to the limit. We can finish 2010 on a positive note though ......
- we feel as though we have regained control of the autism monster
- Kaylia has successfully coped with mainstream Year One at school and is raring to go in Year Two
- Naomi has grown her business well! She has exceeded the targets and milestones set in the business plan and we are now planning to move to the next stage of business growth.
- Ian has had a very full year with managing the day to day operations of Naomi's business .... and at the same time, managing the accounts for two other business clients.
A bright spot in shared interest for the family has been the iPods, iPhone and iPads! It's just one year since we bought the first iPod Touch ..... then we bought a second iPod Touch .... then an iPad 3G ..... then an iPhone 4 .... then another iPad for Kaylia at school! We're a six iPod/iPad family! They've become a consuming interest .... this is being written on my iPad. The iPad also has clear benefits in Kaylia's therapy and we have many videos of therapy sessions. Kaylia enjoys watching them in her quiet times and this revises the therapy work! We also now have an iPad solely for Kaylia's classroom use.
Kaylia is an avid iPad user .... it is part of her bed-time routine .... she spends time looking at her favourite photos, then goes to a selection of bed time movies (Charlie & Lola, Peppa Pig, Wiggles)
One of the reasons that I went into "iPad Land" is that it's a replacement for my workshop interests .... this lifelong interest has had to be put aside due to severe arthritic problems in my right wrist. I'm trying to find interests which are less physically demanding. The medical solution for my wrist is surgery to remove the offending bones!!! I plan to delay this as long as possible.
Well .... that's our 2010 in a nutshell ..... we hope your year has been good for you and that you have a satisfying Christmas!
Best Wishes from Ian, Naomi and Kaylia.
- Posted by the Kaylee Blogger
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