It's 3:00am. She's been downstairs for two hours now ... very noisy!!! Very happy. Singing away in a loud voice. Stimming with beads.
For a long time we've used an effective technique where we whisper "little voice" to her ... she understands and quiets down. Tonight? We say "little voice" ... she responds "LITTLE VOICE!!!". It ain't workin'!
Ah well ... she might sleep tonight. Or maybe she'll stay up tonight as well .... and sleep on the plane!
Barwee tomorrow!
Later: I don't know when she came to bed so I must have been asleep. Bad night.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
#317 Friday 15 July
Bali the day after tomorrow!
This morning the sky outside is dark and foreboding ... it's going to pour soon. As I looked at the balcony it occurred to me that there have been many, many subtle changes to our lifestyle .... we used to sit outside on our swing-seat a lot ... not any more! Why not? (The rain is bucketing down now!). The changes are part business and part Kaylia. Business? We're working harder than ever before ... both of us. Hopefully it will slow down in the future.
Kaylia's routines affect us in so many ways .... it is too energy-sapping to challenge all the routines - we have to pick the battles that are worth fighting! As a result we find ourselves changing our habits to fit hers ... and our routines become condensed to those that are important.
I wonder if other parents of auty ones experience the same? (Kaylia has gone upstairs with a DVD and closed the door .... I can switch off for a few moments as I know what her routine will be.)
It was about 5 minutes break ....
She's flopping round on top of me now. I feel guilty because I can't supply enough "interest" for her. The absence of imagination is such a curse. You don't realize just how dependent we are on imagination till you try to comprehend existence without it. The curse is to be intelligent without the ability to imagine. Without the intelligence, the absence of imagination would not be noticed ... with intelligence, she is constantly seeking activity ... but she can't generate it herself.
That then leads to .... "What's the difference between memory and imagination?"
This morning the sky outside is dark and foreboding ... it's going to pour soon. As I looked at the balcony it occurred to me that there have been many, many subtle changes to our lifestyle .... we used to sit outside on our swing-seat a lot ... not any more! Why not? (The rain is bucketing down now!). The changes are part business and part Kaylia. Business? We're working harder than ever before ... both of us. Hopefully it will slow down in the future.
Kaylia's routines affect us in so many ways .... it is too energy-sapping to challenge all the routines - we have to pick the battles that are worth fighting! As a result we find ourselves changing our habits to fit hers ... and our routines become condensed to those that are important.
I wonder if other parents of auty ones experience the same? (Kaylia has gone upstairs with a DVD and closed the door .... I can switch off for a few moments as I know what her routine will be.)
It was about 5 minutes break ....
She's flopping round on top of me now. I feel guilty because I can't supply enough "interest" for her. The absence of imagination is such a curse. You don't realize just how dependent we are on imagination till you try to comprehend existence without it. The curse is to be intelligent without the ability to imagine. Without the intelligence, the absence of imagination would not be noticed ... with intelligence, she is constantly seeking activity ... but she can't generate it herself.
That then leads to .... "What's the difference between memory and imagination?"
Thursday, July 14, 2011
#316 Thursday 14 July
It's been a busy day but interesting. I tested the new medication this morning ... at about a quarter of the normal dose, it still had a calming effect without making her drowsy. So this means that we have a way to handle the bad situations that can be closely controlled.
Today she had the morning at the Craigie Leisure Centre and the afternoon at Whiteman Park. She had her first experience of a steam engine! Very exciting. The day finished with a visit to the Two Buck shop .... another dingle-dangle!
Today she had the morning at the Craigie Leisure Centre and the afternoon at Whiteman Park. She had her first experience of a steam engine! Very exciting. The day finished with a visit to the Two Buck shop .... another dingle-dangle!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
#315 Wednesday 13 July
It's not looking good ..... the night is young .... but the bed is already wet and I'm typing this with my left hand as I have a hot-pack on my wrist. The pain control aint controllin' ....
Of course we're 2 nights away from a full moon once again!
Morning:
Well it turned out OK. K slept all night and I'm now waiting for Sally to take over so I can start work. I'm using the time to practice some of the language concepts from the review ... but K seems to be headachy and fractious ... she's not very happy.
Evening: Stop Press! We've found Au-Pair number 11 ..... Yay!! Katherine will join us when we get home from "Barwee" (that's Bali in K speak).
Kalia has had a good day .... Sally took her to Kings Park and she loved the DNA tower and the waterfall and the glass bridge. When Naomi & I arrived home from work, Kaylia was on the computer typing up her story about the day. It won't be very long before I can introduce her to blogging! You'll be able to read her stories.
We have a new medicine (prescribed by her paediatritian) to use as a 'last resort' when flying on the plane .... you'll remember our tales of the really bad times during previous travels .... in the worst case, Kaylia can be REALLY upset and nothing in the normal medicine list can calm her. We now have something that we can carry (just in case) to use in that situation. It will calm her down down and control the situation.
Of course we're 2 nights away from a full moon once again!
Morning:
Well it turned out OK. K slept all night and I'm now waiting for Sally to take over so I can start work. I'm using the time to practice some of the language concepts from the review ... but K seems to be headachy and fractious ... she's not very happy.
Evening: Stop Press! We've found Au-Pair number 11 ..... Yay!! Katherine will join us when we get home from "Barwee" (that's Bali in K speak).
Kalia has had a good day .... Sally took her to Kings Park and she loved the DNA tower and the waterfall and the glass bridge. When Naomi & I arrived home from work, Kaylia was on the computer typing up her story about the day. It won't be very long before I can introduce her to blogging! You'll be able to read her stories.
We have a new medicine (prescribed by her paediatritian) to use as a 'last resort' when flying on the plane .... you'll remember our tales of the really bad times during previous travels .... in the worst case, Kaylia can be REALLY upset and nothing in the normal medicine list can calm her. We now have something that we can carry (just in case) to use in that situation. It will calm her down down and control the situation.
#314 Tuesday 12 July
Bad night. Nomi didn't sleep till 12 ... I woke at 11 and was up till 2 ... Kaylia was up at 3 and very noisy till 6:30 ... she's still awake but quiet now .... so she may go to sleep. At least with it being school holidays, she can sleep it off.
I've been kept awake by the wrist for most of the night ... but since the medical advice is "... suck it up." ... and other views are that I'm fixated on the wrist .. I just have to try and forget that I have this aching pulsating blob on the end of my arm. The painkiller I can have doesn't do much .... the painkiller that works makes daily life non-functional!
"Thankyou for listening to my story."
Evening:
Kaylia had a review of her therapy program today ..... Kane (her current therapist) only knows Kaylia in recent times and it was very interesting to hear Darin (Kaylia's psychologist) describing her progress to Kane. We forget just how far she has come since starting down the therapy road. All the indications are that she is still improving rapidly.
Much of her therapy now revolves round prompting her to see relationships between situations so she can then apply that skill to her everyday situations ... to generalise the skill. These are the skills that we learned by observing our world .... Kaylia has great difficulty in being aware of the world outside herself .... so she can't learn to see the relationships. The idea is to teach her the basic skills .... and when she sees the basics and applies them to the rest of her world, her skills and awareness will blossom.
I've been kept awake by the wrist for most of the night ... but since the medical advice is "... suck it up." ... and other views are that I'm fixated on the wrist .. I just have to try and forget that I have this aching pulsating blob on the end of my arm. The painkiller I can have doesn't do much .... the painkiller that works makes daily life non-functional!
"Thankyou for listening to my story."
Evening:
Kaylia had a review of her therapy program today ..... Kane (her current therapist) only knows Kaylia in recent times and it was very interesting to hear Darin (Kaylia's psychologist) describing her progress to Kane. We forget just how far she has come since starting down the therapy road. All the indications are that she is still improving rapidly.
Much of her therapy now revolves round prompting her to see relationships between situations so she can then apply that skill to her everyday situations ... to generalise the skill. These are the skills that we learned by observing our world .... Kaylia has great difficulty in being aware of the world outside herself .... so she can't learn to see the relationships. The idea is to teach her the basic skills .... and when she sees the basics and applies them to the rest of her world, her skills and awareness will blossom.
Monday, July 11, 2011
#313 Monday 11 July 2011
Significant event ..... end of an era ...... another nail in my shed's coffin!
This is a photo of the gas cylinder from my welder ..... after being returned to the gas supplier. I haven't used my welder in about 2 years and since it costs $170 a year just to have the cylinder sitting in the shed, when the latest bill arrived it was time for a reality check. I'm unlikely to be 'playing in my shed' for the foreseeable future ... so it doesn't make sense to keep it.
For those of you that don't know, "the shed" has been a major part of my life and a consuming passion ..... but it isn't compatible with 'life as we know it' now (apologies to Star Trek fans) so I'm gradually closing it down. My lathe was sold last year. My welder will be next to go. Then the bobcat.
Sad but inevitable.
This is the Kanga with a firewood "block-splitter" attached .... one of my past projects. It works really well.
Now .... to more important things! Kaylia has been to the doctor today. (She needs a new referral for the psychologist for her therapy program.) in the past, a visit to the doctor has been ... well .... not a battle ... but an interesting time ... Kaylia wants to explore the toys .... and get her share of the lollies..... Today she was a gem .... she sat on the chair and was perfectly behaved by any standard! Then an hour later at therapy she was just about hyper! I could hear her singing from the other end of the building. She's a conundrum wrapped in an enigma!
This is a photo of the gas cylinder from my welder ..... after being returned to the gas supplier. I haven't used my welder in about 2 years and since it costs $170 a year just to have the cylinder sitting in the shed, when the latest bill arrived it was time for a reality check. I'm unlikely to be 'playing in my shed' for the foreseeable future ... so it doesn't make sense to keep it.
For those of you that don't know, "the shed" has been a major part of my life and a consuming passion ..... but it isn't compatible with 'life as we know it' now (apologies to Star Trek fans) so I'm gradually closing it down. My lathe was sold last year. My welder will be next to go. Then the bobcat.
Sad but inevitable.
This is the Kanga with a firewood "block-splitter" attached .... one of my past projects. It works really well.
Now .... to more important things! Kaylia has been to the doctor today. (She needs a new referral for the psychologist for her therapy program.) in the past, a visit to the doctor has been ... well .... not a battle ... but an interesting time ... Kaylia wants to explore the toys .... and get her share of the lollies..... Today she was a gem .... she sat on the chair and was perfectly behaved by any standard! Then an hour later at therapy she was just about hyper! I could hear her singing from the other end of the building. She's a conundrum wrapped in an enigma!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
#312 Sunday 10 July
7 days to go.
This is Kaylia in a shoe shop yesterday.....
She loves a mirror!
School holidays this week.
Do you remember when you did this?
This is Kaylia in a shoe shop yesterday.....
She loves a mirror!
School holidays this week.
Do you remember when you did this?
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