We're at Whiteman Park again .... a school outing on the last day of the term. We arrived and Kaylia was immediately allowed to go to the pool with us .... I can't help being suspicious! Kaylia is strange in the pool .... it's a large, round, shallow pool with 4 large fountains in the middle .... Kaylia has one particular part of the pool that is "hers" and she doesn't move out of that area.
She's been really good lately .... but the full moon is coming! Be afraid!!
Oops .... I spoke too soon ... Kaylia had an "accident" in the pool and we had to vacate! Oh the shame of hearing all the parents talking .....
5pm. Kaylia and Brynn are down at the playground .... I've just had another of those calls from the "Windows technical department" ..... I feel as though we get far more spam calls than real calls these days. I've become very good at hanging up on them. Surely the market must become saturated sometime .... and the calls stop ....
Friday, April 19, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
#891 Wednesday 17 April
The therapy session yesterday was a strange one .... generally good but in the middle of it, she seemed to have a "hyperactive attack" .... the giggling gerties to the point where Alison just couldn't keep her attention. It went away after a while so it's a mystery.
Kaylia is looking forward to the weekend .... on Saturday we drive down to Busselton for a 4 day break. Naomi really needs a spell from work. We'll stay at the same place we usually do .... so Kaylia is in familiar territory. The club accommodation has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. I just hope we are given a room away from the noisy spots .... one year we had bright lights shining through the bedroom window .... it wasn't fun!
Kaylia is looking forward to the weekend .... on Saturday we drive down to Busselton for a 4 day break. Naomi really needs a spell from work. We'll stay at the same place we usually do .... so Kaylia is in familiar territory. The club accommodation has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. I just hope we are given a room away from the noisy spots .... one year we had bright lights shining through the bedroom window .... it wasn't fun!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
#890 Tuesday 16 April
Well .... yesterday was such a good day that it is a strong tick in favour of the theory that the capsules used to hold the medicine actually have a significant effect on behaviour. Kaylia's therapy session yesterday was one of those sessions where everything just seemed to fall into place ..... Kaylia was really 'firing' and enjoying herself. She was succeeding in exercises that have been troublesome for some time.
She seems to have finally grasped the concept of a sequence of events ,... and of being able to tell a 'story' with those events.
3pm. She's home from school .... it's been a good day .... more ammunition for the theory!
She seems to have finally grasped the concept of a sequence of events ,... and of being able to tell a 'story' with those events.
3pm. She's home from school .... it's been a good day .... more ammunition for the theory!
Monday, April 15, 2013
#889 Monday 15 April
Yesterday we had a good example of Kaylia's quite remarkable 'location awareness'. We had gone on a long drive to Murdoch after being at Aunty Moo's ..... and on the trip north on Roe Highway, Kaylia pipes up ".... Aunty Stana!" It was quite close .... but from an unusual direction. The fact that she was able to notice the landmarks and work out where she was .... it's quite impressive. I wish we could communicate better so we could work out just how good her ability is.
Naomi is not surprised .... in the past she has dealt with another child with the same unexpected skill set.
5pm. Therapy time .... Kaylia is very happy and doing well. It's a delight to see when she is doing so well.
I've tried to get some work done today .... a couple of hours went ok .... I'm really struggling with mental blanks ..... short term memory lapses.
Naomi is not surprised .... in the past she has dealt with another child with the same unexpected skill set.
5pm. Therapy time .... Kaylia is very happy and doing well. It's a delight to see when she is doing so well.
I've tried to get some work done today .... a couple of hours went ok .... I'm really struggling with mental blanks ..... short term memory lapses.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
#888 Sunday 14 April
We have a theory for the cause of the recent behaviour change .....
Her last issue of Lovan was in capsule form instead of tablet .... it may be that it is the actual capsule material! Others have reported strange effects .... so .... we now have tablets again. What's going to happen?
We're now at Aunty Moo's place .... without AM! Mim and Steve are away for the weekend .... but such is the "routine problem" that we still need to be here. Kaylia now wants AM! B%#}}#^^ routine.
Her last issue of Lovan was in capsule form instead of tablet .... it may be that it is the actual capsule material! Others have reported strange effects .... so .... we now have tablets again. What's going to happen?
We're now at Aunty Moo's place .... without AM! Mim and Steve are away for the weekend .... but such is the "routine problem" that we still need to be here. Kaylia now wants AM! B%#}}#^^ routine.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
#887 Saturday 13 April
Sorry ... missed yesterday. My fever etc is gone but the lethargy and tiredness is still in nearly full force and difficult to cope with. Kaylia is in an unusual state this morning .... I sent Brynn off with her with instructions that she is not to be a hero! Retreat to the car if Kaylia hasn't recovered .... Kaylia is always OK in the car.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
#886 Thursday 11 April
In previous blogs I've spoken of Kaylia's absence of imagination ...... yesterday we had a demonstration of this and of just how difficult it is for normal adults to comprehend the depth of this problem.
School were stern with us about the homework not being done lately .... (now I wonder why that is???) ..... so Naomi sat down at the table with "bookers". The exercise was to draw a picture of the story subject. Usually I coax her through this hand over hand. Naomi wanted to see what she would do.
(Background ....she knows what 'draw' means .... and she has just finished the illustrated story.). .... Instruction ...."Draw Ben in a tent"..... She writes "Ben in a tent".
The usual conclusion that we adults would make is that she has confused 'draw' with 'write' ... but .... we know that she can understand the difference between the actions of draw and write ..... and we're familiar with her absolutely literal interpretation of a sentence. So my interpretation is that the exercise is beyond her!! When she reads a story, the pictures mean nothing .... she cannot build a mental picture that she can mentally attach a name tag to. When we point to a picture of a dog chasing a ball .... it's a complete blank to her. She must be wondering "What are they talking about now?"
When asked she can attach a mental tag to some squiggly lines and say "Ben" .... because that's what we've been talking about..... but is there a picture of Ben in her mind? ... No! ...
The frustrating thing is that the homework is professionally produced material that's supposed to be spot on for Kaylee type problems ... in reality, the work is a complete waste of time .... it just flies over her head at a great altitude!
I can't get upset at school staff either because the comprehension of this problem by a person who can "imagine" is a bit hard ... it involves very convoluted thinking. ......trying to imagine how an absence of imagination would imagine an imaginary concept! Phew.
So .... for years we have tried to "turn on her imagination" .... without success. Perhaps we should try to build an artificial imagination as a sort of replacement? I'll think about that as I lie here in recovery mode.
Later: Naomi has pointed out that Kaylia's imagination has begun ..... in the past 2 years she has learned to imagine real things .... things that she has experienced. She can imagine being at the dentist ..... or going to Bali ..... or going to the shops.
But she still can't imagine things she hasn't experienced.
School were stern with us about the homework not being done lately .... (now I wonder why that is???) ..... so Naomi sat down at the table with "bookers". The exercise was to draw a picture of the story subject. Usually I coax her through this hand over hand. Naomi wanted to see what she would do.
(Background ....she knows what 'draw' means .... and she has just finished the illustrated story.). .... Instruction ...."Draw Ben in a tent"..... She writes "Ben in a tent".
The usual conclusion that we adults would make is that she has confused 'draw' with 'write' ... but .... we know that she can understand the difference between the actions of draw and write ..... and we're familiar with her absolutely literal interpretation of a sentence. So my interpretation is that the exercise is beyond her!! When she reads a story, the pictures mean nothing .... she cannot build a mental picture that she can mentally attach a name tag to. When we point to a picture of a dog chasing a ball .... it's a complete blank to her. She must be wondering "What are they talking about now?"
When asked she can attach a mental tag to some squiggly lines and say "Ben" .... because that's what we've been talking about..... but is there a picture of Ben in her mind? ... No! ...
The frustrating thing is that the homework is professionally produced material that's supposed to be spot on for Kaylee type problems ... in reality, the work is a complete waste of time .... it just flies over her head at a great altitude!
I can't get upset at school staff either because the comprehension of this problem by a person who can "imagine" is a bit hard ... it involves very convoluted thinking. ......trying to imagine how an absence of imagination would imagine an imaginary concept! Phew.
Later: Naomi has pointed out that Kaylia's imagination has begun ..... in the past 2 years she has learned to imagine real things .... things that she has experienced. She can imagine being at the dentist ..... or going to Bali ..... or going to the shops.
But she still can't imagine things she hasn't experienced.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)