#1466 Saturday 21 January

Last night she was very tired ..... And she slept for 13 hours!  Today she is happy and full of energy .... and I'm worn out.

Naomi says:.   So I'm telling Kaylee her stories tonight before bed. She still likes to hear the same stories (all seven of them) that I've been telling her for years. We just have an agreement now that she can only have three at one time. Anyway..I digress 🙂 I'm on the homeward run, doing my last story with her..when I start to notice snoring. It's not her...it's our dog, Teddy. 🐶 I try to kick him out of the room but he's either fast asleep or pretending he can't hear me. I give up, and do my best not to laugh through the last story. Kaylee is happy...so is the dog.

Isn't this brilliant?  GetUp is doing great things!

GetUp has begun an online appeal mechanism that anyone targeted by Centrelink can use.

FraudStop thwarts the corrupted Centrelink review process by launching a multi-pronged response through a single five-minute form.

• Appeal By Post. People are running out of call minutes trying to get through to understaffed Centrelink offices.³ You can't formally appeal in person or online, so FraudStop submits an appeal by post, free of charge.


• FOI Request. Shockingly, Centrelink staff are directed not to consider evidence already on file, like pay slips and doctor's certificates.⁴ So FraudStop submits an FOI request for a person's file, to get the evidence Centrelink already has, instead of desperately searching for paperwork from five years ago.


• Help from local MP. FraudStop submits a request for help to a person's local MP, which is often the best way to get things resolved quickly. Even in the testing phase, we're already hearing about local MPs responding to help.

PPS – If you've received a debt letter and want to submit an appeal, you can use the beta version of FraudStop at fraudstop.com.au right now. 

I'm very glad that GetUp has done this  ..... I have no doubt that I will soon be targeted by Centrelink because of the disability trust we have set up for Kaylia's future.

#1465 Friday 20 January

It's 5:30am .... I've given up on trying to get her to sleep. It's been another night where I suspect that she hasn't slept much at all.  She was very late to settle with Naomi .... around 11:30pm .... and then came upstairs at 3am.  At that time she was wide awake.... she was trying very hard to move quietly.  Since then she has been well behaved .... but wide awake.

There's no naughtiness in this ..... she's just not sleepy.  Her lack of sleep doesn't seem to produce any bad effect during the day.....

This morning has had a couple of mysteries.   Firstly I brushed her hair .... put the brush down on the bench .... and we can't find it anymore!!!!  Then this locust was suddenly in the fruit bowl .... it's huge!  In the photo it looks dead .... but it was very much alive ..... and it didn't like being moved.

Now we are on a countdown to ..... Nando's ......  but she nagging so much that we may have to abort.  Kayla has a voucher for Nando's .... a Christmas present.

Later:. All went well.... but she is very tired after her sleepless night and she has already crashed. She's asleep at 7pm.

#1464 Thursday 19 January

I've been pondering the future of this blog ... what to write about in different "scenarios" .... such as when all is going well?   I guess that no matter what is happening in Kaylia's life, you will be interested in it.  Quite apart from our care about Kaylia as an individual, I think we have a fascination with learning about a person with autism.   Autism produces a personality with such "abnormal" characteristics that we are intrigued ...... we want to know "how they tick".

We had a strange visit today ..... the people across the road and up a bit have pet ducks ..... rare ones!  Siberian ducks that are reputed to cost $1,000 each..... well... they're on holiday and the family who are looking after the house came over today saying that the entire had been left open ... and the ducks were loose!

#1463 Wednesday 18 January

Strange ..... last night, Kaylia didn't sleep well at all..... and neither did Ellie!  Was it something to do with the weather? Who knows.

She had Friendship Club this morning and they reported that she was in a "No" mood.

#1462 Tuesday 17 January

She's on two countdowns now ..... days to her birthday and days till school starts .... and in between are therapy with Simone and Friendship Club .... several of each.

Right now she is in the middle of therapy .... as the session goes along she is singing, ..... nursery rhymes, songs from TV programs, droning ..... I presume that she does this at school ..... and I guess the other kids do too!  It must be a very noisy group at times.  But very happy.

2pm. I think she's had a good day ..... I fell asleep during the therapy session and I've struggled to wake up properly since.

#1461 Monday 16 January

It's been an upsy downsy day..... she was very relaxed and happy this morning ..... and then this afternoon her period struck and she dissolved in pain.  I tried all the ideas I had to try to control the pain ..... with no effect.   So I resorted to the BIG gun .... a long drive.  At 3pm we hopped in the car and drove to Northam and back.  We got home at 5pm in time for me to cook tea.  It's a weird tactic but it works .... no crying during the drive .... and she's been happy since.

#1460 Sunday 15 January

It's been a hot day and the spa heater is working really well!!  The drawback of a solar heater is that it works best on the hottest day.  Kaylia chose to resurrect her old bath ..... with cold water.  And now she's in the shower .... cold water.

She has been edgy today ... which puts us on edge too.  We went to Aunty Maxine's ..... and we felt as if we were sitting on a volcano waiting for it to erupt.  We stuck to the routine though and she lasted through the day without losing it.

This morning she was sneaky .... she began the shower routine .... just so that I would get out of bed and she could steal my side of the bed!!  We're noticing many areas in which she is developing in a very pleasing way ...... but always the thought is lurking in the background .... How do we get her to a point where she can cope without us.  It's scary. It's such a short time we have to achieve this.