#1890 Saturday 29 September

It's Saturday .... Naomi is working till mid afternoon and then we will go shopping and "op shop" crawling!  This morning Kaylia began with a bubble bath .... as usual .... and then Kaylia and Casey went shopping.  Casey reports that Kaylia was quite independent in the shops.  Casey gave her the shopping list and the debit card ...... and then said "Go for it!"  ..... and she did!  And now they're in the kitchen and I stood and watched.  Kaylia is very capable!  They're making cookies and Kaylia is doing it all.  This year at high school has made a huge change for Kaylia.  I think the fact that she was allowed to stay with her group of friends ... even though she is in the wrong year class ..... it's meant that she is in with a group of older kids and they "push" her.  ...... and we see the result.

 ......  and our little household?

Naomi - 40%

Ian       - 20%

Kaylia - 30%

Teddy  - 10%   😊

#1889 Wednesday 26 September

Today Kaylia had her first "Friendship Club" for these school holidays.  These groups are at Autism West in Fremantle  and are usually a half day session.  Kaylia loves them .... and she is well loved there too.  Today the group was making play dough sculptures ... and of course Kaylia made 'dingle-dangles'!  She has 3 more sessions during the holidays.

Today I went along to show Casey how to find the Autism West centre ..... and after dropping Kaylia there, I then caught the train back to Midland ..... leaving Casey to stay and bring Kaylia home after lunch.  While on the train I got talking to a fellow passenger ... it turns out that he goes to Cambodia to help build houses.  I asked about the tools used and he said that the  Cambodian government doesn't allow them to bring any tools into the country ..... so all their building work is done without tools!  They drill holes in timber by hand ..... holding the drill bit and turning it!   Incredible.   I'm afraid I couldn't tolerate that.

On Sunday we will be going down to Busselton for a two day stay at the Sebel resort ..... this is the place we nearly always go .... partly because we have club membership there ... but mainly because it combines all the factors that Kaylia loves ...  while being a constant routine for her.  She luurrvves the indoor pool and spa there.

#1888 Tuesday 25 September

Today .... first day of the school holidays.  7am - into the bath!  Then at 9:30 it was time for a therapy session.  I like it when we have therapy at home because we can hear just what Kaylia is actually capable of.  She cheats with us ... and we are naughty cos we accept her cheating.  By cheating I mean her use of language.  She does really well with language while in the therapy sessions ... and then reverts to her lazy ways for us.

A letter came regarding a bit of bureaucracy for Kaylia ..... and I found out that since she has turned 14, her Medicare record can no longer be accessed from the family account .... even though that's where her record is!  She has to have her own "My Gov" account and her own Medicare account.   So.... I began the task of creating these...... and I found that this process is littered with "road blocks" where an action is required ... but the action cannot be done because of her disability.  By the time I had navigated the process by fooling the system, I was quite worn out.  At one point I explained to "the person" that Kaylia has severe autism and she can't give verbal consent for me to discuss her affairs.  Eventually I suggested that I write the response out so Kaylia could be prompted to answer the person's question ...... OK they say.  "We can accept that."   So that's what we did .... the person asked questions and I prompted Kaylia to answer.  

..... but she now has her own My Gov account ..... and her own Medicare account.

#1887 Monday 24 September

It's a public holiday today .... for some reason .....   Kaylia is loving having "mummy time".  She refused to have daddy joining in!

After a trip out for a family breakfast .... she had bacon and eggs on toast.  She finishes her bacon .... and then looks at my bacon ..... "Bacon??"  .... "Nooo... it's my bacon!"

Now we're home and she's in the bath again.  Our water bill is slightly above average for the area ..... but I consider it to be part of her therapy cost.



I am always impressed by this man.  He stands up for what is right.

#1886 Sunday 23 September

Sunday .... pancakes!  Then a drive to Bindoon ..... at Kaylia's request.  I think she just likes the drive.  We certainly like the drive .... at this time of the year the land is green and the wildflowers are beginning to bloom.  In a few weeks the land will be carpeted with flowers.

It's now 5pm and Kaylia has finally finished her bath!!  She does like her bath time.... it's very calming for her.