#1260 Tuesday 10 November

Ooo wot a night!!  Kaylia had a bad time last night ..... she didn't settle till 10pm ..... then was up at 2:30am with a wet bed.  This is the first wet bed in quite a while .... I was beginning to wonder if she had beaten it.

Our new aupair arrived yesterday.  Camille takes over from Hannah in two weeks time.  Camille is from France ....  this is a first.

#1259 Sunday 8 November

Kaylia slept in till 10am this morning ..... what a treat for us. When she woke she was very happy and she's been a big smooch since.   She's a delight!

As the time of departure for Hannah and Callum draws nearer, it seems that Kaylia has worked it out in her own way ..... she's become even more affectionate with them ..... I think we will all miss them.   It's been a very special nine months.

When I think back over the past 20 aupairs Naomi and I have been very fortunate .... most have been very special people ..... and so good for Kaylia.

#1258 Saturday 7 November

I had a thought yesterday ..... (I can hear the groans already) ..... it was to wonder whether autism can have a protective effect on a child.   The experiences that a person has in early life can have a big impact on their later thoughts / feelings  ..... but the nature of autism is that the child's development reverses .... so that their development halts and goes backward.  Normally we would expect that a really bad experience at age 3 to 5 could have a big impact on later development ..... but is the regression so severe that the bad experiences associated with early autism don't have a lasting impact?   It's a comforting thought.   Kaylia is such a happy person at this stage in her life ..... maybe the horrible times she has been through haven't made a big dent in her future happiness.  I hope not.

I was supposed to be going to the villa today to check on maintenance .... but my flights have been cancelled.  I don't mind .... I have my projects at a point where I don't want the interruption.

#1257 Thursday 5 November

The second visit to BCC went well yesterday ..... for a girl who likes routine and who doesn't like change, she sometimes seems to thrive on change.  I don't think that we will have any problems with her move to high school next year.

I often wish that we could instal a volume control!   Our house can get pretty noisy at times ..... when Kaylia is happy and doing her pacing thing she babbles at high volume.  Most of the time this is fine ..... but when it's competing with TV, the TV loses!

Today she has a school excursion to the Perth Museum ..... that's going to be interesting!

#1256 Tuesday 3 November

It's therapy time ..... Kaylia is very excited and its hard to keep her on track as a result.  She's munching watermelon .... a reward for working well.  I wonder how much of her difficulties are due to being so excited that she can't think about a subject for enough time to process it.

This morning she came upstairs at 5am .... she was very well behaved and very happy.   She lies there and looks at mummy.... then daddy ..... and she just oozes happiness.

#1255 Monday 2 November

On Saturday I was pruning the Macadamia tree at the back and a bull ant bit me on the second toe of my right foot ...... as a result I'm wide awake at 5 am with a madly itchy toe!  I've been up for 2 hours now ..... putting creams on to try to control the itch.   It makes Kaylia's lack of sensation almost attractive!  She can stim on a rough toenail..... and work on it till she's torn it off ..... a bloody mess .... but she doesn't say anything.  We only discover what she's done if we see her in the act or during our periodic inspections.

#1254 Sunday 1 November

As you know it was the rugby World Cup in the wee hours this morning ..... and Callum is a rugby player!! So ..... !!!

He was out till some hour ..... and this morning he had to be woken several times for breakfast.

Kaylia has been quite upset this afternoon ...... fortunately a drive in the car has done the usual trick.  I take for a drive round the local streets for about half an hour ..... it seems to let her get back into gear ..... now she's happy to relax with me on the lounge.

While we were driving I saw this goanna

beside the road .... he was happy for me to take a photo.

Tonight it will be home made gluten free pizza ..... yummy!

Hannah and Callum are now in their last month with us .... we will all be very sad to say goodbye.... they'll be spending time over east .... then going to NZ.  They will meet up with Kerri while there.

Evening 

The day ended depressingly with Kaylia being more and more upset .... and we weren't able to pull her out of it.  Hannah has taken her for a walk now .... so we hope it will make things better.