Back again!

It's been a while in between blog entries, which indicates how very busy life is. I feel though that we are slowly taking it all in our stride and this 'craziness' has become our 'new normal'.

Life is a flurry of appointments - Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Play Therapy, Group, Doctors/Specialists (and that is just Tuesdays and Fridays...........and that is just for Jasper). Then we have creche and work (Wed/Thur) , and a myriad other appointments for the rest of us (all of which are scheduled on a Monday). I don't think in terms of what day of the week it is anymore, I think in terms of what appointments I have on any given day!

Using our picture board Jasper is getting really good at knowing what day it is and what that means we will be doing.

Weekends are reserved for housework, running teenagers all over town and finally, crashing in a delirious heap!

Lots of little things have been happening for Jasper. We started him on fish oil about a month ago and despite what we were warned, he actually loves the stuff (strange being that he is such a fussy eater generally). We call it his 'magic sparkle juice' (as when stirred in to regular juice it makes sparkly bubbles appear on the surface). Whether or not it is associated at all, I have seen a real improvement in his cognitive ability and development, as well as his language.

He loves doing puzzles and is able to complete a 25 piece puzzle on his own, actually, the other day he completed a 40 piece floor puzzle on his own. I can see him starting to turn the pieces around to match where they fit, he is learning to turn all the pieces over before he starts so he can see the picture part of all the pieces and also starts with the corners and borders as I have shown him to do. He enjoys games such as memory and matching type games and is really improving with the turn taking.

I've also noticed Jasper is indulging in lots of dramatic and make believe play. The other day he came up to me and said "I'm not Jasper, I'm a puppy" and got down on all fours and started 'woofing'. I said 'Hello Puppy, are you tired"? He replied with a 'woof' and curled up on the floor pretending to sleep.

This morning we went to buy some fruit and vegies at the shop - Jasper loves to pick out the vegies and put them in the bag. When we got home he went into his room, got his little shopping trolley and asked me for 'a bag and some carrots'. I put a few carrots in a plastic shopping bag and he popped them in his trolley and 'went shopping'. He amused himself all afternoon pretending to buy the carrots and wheeling them around in his shopping trolley.

Another dramatic scene he will often act out is 'going to school. He comes out wearing a bag like a backpack and says 'I'm going to school now mum'....'see you later'....and off he goes! This one though is just copying what he sees his big brothers doing each day. I try to extend the play by asking questions - if nothing else it is good practice for his language development.

He still loves to constantly ask where everyone is - over and over - and he loves me to tell the same story of what we are going to do, over and over ('tell me again mum, tell me again'). He often asks (especially if we are out in the car) 'what's happening next mum'?

Food and eating continues to be a big problem. He eats a very limited range of food at home, although eats a lot of the one thing. For example, today he has been obsessed with carrots and has eaten four raw, peeled carrots (and asked for many more). He requests a lot of different things but then refuses to eat them - I have a lot of trouble trying to get across that he has to finish one thing before he gets anything else and I end up throwing out a lot of food. I am however having some success limiting the constant drinks he asks for all day (usually chocolate soy milk or juice). He is allowed either of those at a meal and then the rest of the time I keep his drink bottle handy with water and insist he drinks that between meals.

Over the weekend we gave his room a bit of a makeover and he spent his first night last night in a 'big bed'. I wasn't sure how that would go, he has never attempted to climb out of his cot although most nights he wakes and calls out to come in with us. He loves his new room and he went to bed and stayed there, sleeping right through the night (and not falling out which was my other concern). In the morning he called out for me to come and get him up!! I bought him a little dinosaur night light which he also loved I didn't know whether the constantly changing colours would be too stimulating for him to sleep through but he was fine - and at least he could see his way to our room if he happened to get up in the night.

The only other real news is that he has been sick for the past week with gastro and does not seem to be improving. We are off to the doctors tomorrow. He is complaining of really painful tummy cramps - he calls out in pain and clutches his tummy, saying 'sore tummy' and will usually lie down on the floor till it passes. He has had a week of really yucky, runny (and very smelly) nappies - so something is not quite right. I am beginning to wonder if it might be more about the 'gut' troubles autistic children tend to suffer, rather than just gastro and will bring that up with Ken when we see him in August. He is already mostly dairy free - may need to go gluten free as well.