Managing Autism - A Personal View

It may seem like we’ve fallen off the face of the earth… we haven’t really… just searching for a ’sense of peace’ here at the moment.

After a short bout of illness (nothing serious), we’re all feeling fit and healthy - but quite caught up in sorting out life.

Sometimes life throws things at you - probably just to make you stop and think, and take stock of where you’re going and what you’re doing… and we’re at that point here at the moment.

There are a couple of really fun memes that I have on my list of things to do (thank you to those lovely blogging friends who have inspired me with some fun ideas) and also quite a large awards party to hold (everyone will be invited for sure!!).

So please hang around… it might be a little while before we’re back up and running properly, but we will get there.  It’s just time for a bit of a sabatical… time to ‘find some peace’.

PS - Please leave a message if you need us… we’re not completely out of the picture!

Oh my goodness… oh my goodness!!!

We’re holding our breath…..

Someone please pick the significance of this moment!!!

To our beautiful Jack,

May you bask in the sunshine of your uniqueness.

May you shine in the beauty of you.

May you always know of the blessings you bring to our lives.

We love you to the moon and stars and back… forever,

 Mum, Dad & Annie. xx

Today we celebrate Autism Awareness Day.

Today we embrace what autism means to us.

Today we look with hope to a future of understanding and acceptance.

Today we look forward with love.

Elissa has spent the last few days trying to knock over a headache, as well as general aches and a feeling of not being well. (She thinks she’s just run down after a big start to the year and that her body is trying to catch up!)

So the posting has been entrusted to me!!

Over the Easter weekend, Elissa and I were given the opportunity to enjoy a night out for a few hours, and decided to take in a movie. We had both seen the previews for a local Aussie movie called The Black Balloon, and decided that it would be great to go and see it.

Wow! - A great film with typical Aussie humour, but the best bit is that it is centred around the sibling of an autistic teenager.  The movie deals with the sibling’s struggle to come to terms with his brothers autism, and how it relates to his and his family’s life.

You can view the trailer, and some other information about the film here.

We really enjoyed it! (Could have just been the fact that we were also out alone and acting like adults for the first time in a long time!!) It was confronting at stages, and it was interesting to hear the audiences reaction to some of the more confronting parts.  I would certainly recommend it, and hopefully it will be released widely for everyone to see.

Steve

Last night we made the switch - that is, we turned off all the lights and appliances in our home for an hour - Earth Hour.

The kids were really caught up in the moment.  By candlelight, we had some great discussions on the importance of keeping our planet / earth healthy.  The kids wanted to know what would happen if the earth got too sick, and we talked about the fact that it would impact on all of us - the plants, the animals, our natural environment, and of course people.

We finished our Earth Hour with the kids finally falling asleep on the living room floor.  (And I have to admit, it was really lovely to have the time together without any distractions from technology.)

These kind of events, and daily consciousness of ‘keeping the earth healthy’ are important for us all to bring into our lives.  Let’s keep our earth safe… let’s keep it healthy for our children and the generations of children to come!

Annie’s sleeping face (asleep before she managed to get the sunglasses off!) says it all.

It’s Friday, and being nearly the end of the week, we’re kind of a little frazzled!  Not that you would think we could be after a long weekend away… but it just kinda happens!

We had a really nice Easter weekend, catching up with family and friends… we stayed away a little longer than we had originally planned, but thought we needed to treat ourselves to a couple of extra days break!

So we made it home a few days ago, and then proceeded to spend copious hours seeing to some ’stuff’ that had been needing our attention for quite a while… and here we are… the end of the week again…

We have lots to catch up on - posts to write, and blogs to visit.

Ahh… busy, busy, busy!!!  Memories of a relaxing weekend disappear very quickly!

Elissa xx

And a sneak preview of some news with Jack - more success to report on some of the ‘aggression issues’!

Coming soon!!

Thank you everyone for your lovely birthday wishes!!

I had a lovely birthday, and was thoroughly spoilt by my beautiful family.

With the Easter weekend fast approaching, we will be taking some time away from blogging. We’re spending the weekend with family and friends, and will return to blogging early next week some time.

So have a great weekend, and wishing everyone a happy and safe Easter!

Elissa, Steve, Jack & Annie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISS!

I won’t tell you how old she is……. She would kill me….!

(But you could have your own guess ??!!)

Steve

We love you Mum!! xx

In a post we wrote sometime ago we introduced you to our ‘5th’ member of the family (Max the cat), and his special ability to calm and influence Jacks behaviour. This past weekend we had the opportunity to babysit another family favourite - Dunstan the dog.

Dunstan (or Dun, as he is called) has been in the extended family for over 10 years, and is a beautiful natured dog who just senses the mood and needs of others around him. Jack has a very special bond with Dun, and is always excited when he comes to stay.

Saturday was the day, and Jack was pacing the floor waiting for his special friend to arrive.  By early morning he had already placed 2 bowls of food, 3 water containers and a pile of sticks neatly out on the grass in readiness for play.

From the moment Dun arrived, he was so excited!! He began jumping all over the place, chasing birds, and rolling in the dirt! (Dun did some of those things too!)

From the photo you can see how happy both Dun and Jack looked together, and considering they spent the best part of 5 hours on Saturday afternoon playing together, they both slept like babies that night! Sometimes we underestimate the effect that family pets can have on our kids, and considering I grew up with family pets it was nice to have some of the memories come flooding back.

Now, if only I can convince Elissa to let Jack and I have a puppy…….!

Steve

After our trip to the paediatrician last week, we had an appointment today for Jack to have his hearing tested.  We have never really had any concerns with his hearing, but the paediatrician felt that we needed to have it checked anyway.

So today we returned to the same specialist consulting suites, this time feeling just a little more anxious after the events of last time (the 2 major meltdowns), but a little more prepared in terms of an action plan in case things went a little crazy.

I had left Annie with my sister and her kids (so that there were less distractions for Jack), and had made a stop at the shops on the way to the appointment to buy Jack a sticker / activity book.  So far so good.

When we arrived at the consulting suites, Jack looked at the building and I noticed his body tense up a little as he said “do we have to see the same doctor?”  I assured him that this time we were seeing someone different and that it would be a really quick visit.

We checked in to reception and the first thing I did was ask how long the wait was.  The receptionist told me it would be about 10 minutes, so I said that we would go for a walk and come back.  Thankfully there are quite a few large areas of garden and lawn around the buildings where we were, so Jack happily walked with me (listening to the birds) and then we sat quietly under a tree just outside the consulting suites to look at his book as we waited for his turn with the audiologist.

When we were called in for our appointment I was really glad I had made the decision to wait outside in the garden, because the waiting room had become quite busy and noisy (and very stimulating)!!

Jack looked a little anxious as we made our way down the same long hallway as we had been last week when visiting the paediatrician, but relaxed again as we entered the audiologists office, and he happily sat down to look at his book.

From here things went really smoothly.  Jack happily sat in the closed booth to have his hearing checked, and then sat beside me as the audiologist and I spoke.  The audiologist had a lovely way with him, and he was really calm through the whole process.

Then the moment came where Jack had reached his threshold for waiting and he stood up and said “it’s time to go, I must go now or I’ll be late for school”, and with that he headed towards the door.  Thankfully the audiologist and I were nearing the end of our discussion, and she was very understanding in the fact that at that point we just needed to go.

So off we went.  We did have to wait at the reception area for a couple of minutes on our way out (to settle the account), but Jack headed straight for the door and outside, and waited for me under the tree that we had found earlier.

So we left… with me breathing a big sigh of relief that we had survived the appoinment without a meltdown!

Now I just need to work out how to bottle this whole ‘meltdown free’ experience… hmmm…

Elissa