Camping trip.

After lots of forward planning we had our first successful camping trip with Jasper. We spent the past week talking about what we would do, showing Jasper our tent, getting him to try out his sleeping bag etc.

We spent 2 nights at Anglesea, right on the beach - it was a great spot. I can't believe how well Jasper coped, he really took it all in his stride. I also noticed (perhaps because we were in a completely different setting to home) he did not constantly ask for things such as milk, particular dvds etc. He loved playing at the beach, loved playing frisbee (or 'wheel' as he called it), beach cricket and kicking the footy - better still he loved doing all that with his brothers around to join in.

He loved sitting with us in his miniature matching camping chair. He also enjoyed exploring nearby and didn't wander off - he was quite content to stay close to the tent. Jordy took him for a ride through the camping area in a hired pedal car which he thoroughly enjoyed - until Jordy came to a screeching halt at the end of the ride and Jasper went flying over the handle bars!

There was a great park and toddler play room where he had a really good play and met another little girl, and he absolutely LOVED the giant jumping pillow! He slept really well, ate really well and generally was a wonderful little boy. Hopefully we can do it again soon (and often) and it can become something that Jasper really understands, even though it is different to our normal daily routine - and it gets us out of the house and 'doing' something rather than being driven by structure and routine!!

Other than that he has been going really well. He saw Ken last week and Ken was very pleased with his progress. He had a play with Andrea at the Fun Factory which he loved (and constantly asks when we can play with Andrea at the Fun Factory again)! He's just going along really well - or maybe we are getting a better handle on it?

His language has improved dramatically to the point where he is speaking 5-6 word sentences. I can't wait to get back to speech therapy with him (hopefully really soon). He can now 'almost' (with a teeny bit of prompting) say his name when asked, and his address. He can also tell 'us' (rather than us telling 'him') where everyone is going to be on a given day.....'it's Monday, what are we all doing today?'.........'Dad's at work, mum's got lots of jobs, Brayden's at work, Zac's at school, Jordy's at school and Jasper is going to creche'!!!! Then he claps and says 'yay'!!!

He went in to creche really well today, no tears, I thought he may have been tired and crabby after our big weekend - especially the drive, he got quite grizzly being stuck in his car seat for such a length of time.

I suppose tonight will really tell how tired he is!

So so.

Jasper had a great nights sleep last night and his morning routine went very smoothly. We had Occupational Therapy first up, with Rachel, and that also went really well....then went shopping....that didn't go quite so well. Jasper hates shopping!

Everytime I stopped to look at something Jasper would call out 'quick, quick, quick'. I think he may have got that from me - I noticed myself saying it to him quite a few times today!

For a treat I took Jasper to Pizza Hut for lunch and he was so well behaved. Not sure if it helped but before we went in I went through what we would be doing a few times - 'we will sit at a table, we will eat some pasta, some pizza and some ice cream and jelly, when we have finished eating we will go home for a rest'. To which Jasper replied 'okay mum, okay' in such an earnest little tone of voice!

I was so pleased with the way Jasper behaved, normally he would not sit still for that length of time, much less eat anything. He had a bowl of pasta, some grated cheese on a plate, asked for more grated cheese, a bowl of jelly then a bowl of icecream with sprinkles. He was very good at finishing what he was eating before he got something else too which is something we are working on.

All in all, not too bad a day. And what's more, I found a car shaped cookie cutter at the shops! Guess what is for breakfast tomorrow - car toast!

Untitled.

I LOVE Jasper but I really HATE this thing called 'autism' and I HATE what it has done to my life :(

We've got our old Jasper back!

Well, that didn't last long! Jasper is back to his 'very autistic best' this afternoon. Right now he is standing beside me banging his head into my arm, screaming repeatedly 'I want to watch Cars'. He has been so rowdy this afternoon that I put his Cars dvd on for him and asked him to have a rest (saying it was 'rest time'). He kept coming into the kitchen where I was busy, asking for 'milk' and 'morning tea' over and over. I kept saying 'rest time now, tea time next'.

To cut a long (and stressful) story short I have just turned off the dvd because he refuses to sit and watch it (but is screaming for it to go back on). I'm probably doing the wrong thing but I am tired and worn out and I have had enough. This whole routine thing takes so much patience and mental energy. I really hate these sorts of episodes, it will most likely just spiral out of control now till we get him into bed. Sometimes I would just like to have a nice quiet weekend to myself without having to abide by this strict routine, sometimes I would just like to do 'nothing at all'.

Jordy has taken matters into his own hands and placed Jasper in his cot - kicking and screaming. Jordy does not cope well when Jasper behaves like this.

Groan.....give me strength. I knew it was too good to be true.

Soup.

Okay, where did Jasper go and who is this imposter?? I cannot believe some of the amazing things happening here.

As I write, Jasper has just finished his lunch - he actually sat at the table and ate a little bowl of homemade celery soup (had two serves) and a star shaped vegemite sandwich (thank goodness for cookie cutters)! I can't believe it?!

A week ago he would never sit for a meal, whatever I put in front of him he refused, he would request either pasta or eggs (and then usually refuse them once i prepared them).

I had a thought today as to why this is working - in the past I have tried not to make too much of a fuss with food, just put it down for him and then left him to it. Since we have started our routines one of us has been actually sitting down at his little table with him to eat lunch or morning tea etc. I make a matching meal for whoever is sitting with Jasper and we make a point of saying 'lets sit down for lunch', 'yum, this is a yummy lunch' etc and he is mirroring what we are doing and saying. It is almost like he needed to be shown (or reminded) what to do.

Food cut into shapes is working a treat (why did I not think of it before) as is his little divided plate with 3 sections for different foods.

I am so excited he is liking the celery soup (he also had some last night), being that he is not a big vegie eater it is a way of hiding vegies (it contains celery, carrots and potato). I think he will probably eat pumpkin soup too, I know he has in the past.

Behaviour wise he is being a bit of a pill today (but better than normal). I know this is because things are not as structured on the weekends, so I find if I keep saying things like 'we will have a play now, then a rest, then dad will be home' it sort of keeps reminding him to 'play now' and he is happy with that. He starts repeating this to himself as he plays.... 'play now, then rest, then dad home'....and on it goes!

He has just tipped out his box of duplo and built a very impressive tower - almost as tall as he is - and is telling Jordy and I 'don't touch the tower, okay'. Jordy just informed me that Jaspers tower is 38 blocks high!

Anyway, next time I go into town I will be on the lookout for large cookie cutters - I am thinking a car shaped one will be great when the novelty wears off stars and little men!!

Wonderful!

The past 4 days have been pretty close to perfect (at least the great moments have far out-weighed the not so great ones).

On Tuesday we decided to 'finally' get serious about a routine and I cannot believe the difference it has made. Jasper sat down and ate 3 meals and 2 snacks throughout the day (and we took lots of photos to use as prompts) and the best bit was, there was no whinging for food at all. He had some indoor play, some outdoor play and a rest. We kept repeating to him the whole day what the routine would be and he would say 'say it again'...it was like a big game. He already repeats back to us the night time routine - as soon as we mention the bath he says 'bath, then stories, then bed'.

Wednesday and Thursday were perfect - he was happy and there was hardly any of the anxiety or constantly repeating the same thing. His language was great, his mood was great and best of all, his behaviour was great!

Last night almost went pear shaped but as tired as i was (and goodness, was I TIRED) I managed to follow the routine (nearly let it go but the thought of another feral friday made me stay strong). The only glitch was forgetting to give him his medicine (and wondered why, when I put him to bed, he called out for the next hour and refused to settle).

Today, which is usually the day I least follow any sort of routine (it is just a catch up day for me - whatever has to be done) I decided to stick loosely to some form of structure. Before we left the house I repeated to Jasper a number of times 'We are going to ..... take the kids to school ...... call in to see Rachael (I had to call in at work to fill out my time sheet - Rachael job shares with me and Jasper is familiar with her)......then have a play at the Fun Factory. It took him a few moments but I think he remembered the fun factory (had not been there for a while) and started talking about the 'motor bikes' and 'balls' and got quite excited.

Our play at the Fun Factory was a great success. He is usually overwhelmed by the noise and the number of children running around - and gets very funny if anyone breaches his personal space. He wanted me beside him for the first 5 or 10 minutes then gradually I moved further away till I was sitting at a table and he was happily playing by himself. After an hour or so he even made a little friend (a little girl about his age, maybe a bit younger) and was asking her to follow him. The two of them had a wonderful time, running after each other, laughing and giggling together. When he wanted to have a go at doing something different he would talk to her and turn her head (rather than actually pointing) in the direction he wanted to go saying 'come with me'. I was reluctant to leave while he was having so much fun and interacting so well. We stayed on until all the others left (I don't think there was any way I would've managed to talk him into leaving prior to that)!!

We grabbed a brochure with a photo of the fun factory on it, and will use that as a visual prompt as well (although I am certain he understands the words 'Fun Factory' now).

He was starting to get cranky as we headed home and I tried to keep him awake by talking to him about what we were going to do when we got home.....lunch, a play, a rest.....then the kids would be home from school. I'm not sure if it is pure coincidence but I have been using a gingerbread man cutter to cut out a shape from his sandwiches (instead of boring triangles) and he has subsequently been eating all his lunch - today he had a vegemite man and a jam man! He was even role playing with the 2 sandwich men as he ate. We are limiting his chocolate soy milk (or normal soy for that matter) to only at meal times and he has been coping okay with that - he still asks occasionally between meals but I just repeat 'chocolate milk for breakfast and lunch and dinner, not now' and he has been accepting that.

To cap off a wonderful few days - he got an invitation to a birthday party (from a little girl at creche)! To be held at the Fun Factory no less!!!

I have just finished reading a wonderful book called Smiling At Shadows (see 'read me' list) and I highly recommend it. Even now, after seemingly absorbing so much information about autism it amazes me that all these little snippets continue to leap up at you from the page - feelings that you identify with, situations you have found yourself in, strategies to try. You sort of feel, as you read along, that you are nodding your head in agreement the whole time. This is not just my journey (or Jaspers) there are people everywhere, everyday on the same journey, living the same roller coaster life. And mostly surviving! There is hope!