what is known as reception class. It's still lots of playing, toys everywhere, but it is more structured than it's been up to now. So far so good. Last half term their theme was bears, next it'll be seasons. He is very motivated by the stickers they dish out for finishing your lunch, doing as they are told, getting coats on and off without making the teacher scream. Alastair has stayed in the nursery attached to the school and is there every morning and is doing well.We are in the process of trying to decide where he'll go after Easter. We will go to the local special school next week to look at their facilities and see what they can offer. My feeling is to combine the best of both worlds - try to get the special school to provide what the other school can't, such as swimming, speech therapy, music, and stay at the mainstream school for everything else. Social skills and improving independence are the key areas for Alastair. He has begun to acknowledge other children in his group at school and seems to always have a string of girls beside him trying to mother him. The teachers are trying to step back where they can and let him get on without so much intervention. Because he doesn't have the language skills interaction with other children is less intense, but more challenging, because what he's taught and can utilise assumes the other child will acquiesce patiently.
The other week a man came over to show us a machine that could aid communication. It's a faster version of the book we already use (which is very manual, laborious and cumbersome). I can see the huge potential of this machine, but we'd have to go through a lot of hoops to acquire one. I am still thinking about this though. He is making progress with his speech. It is slow and mechanical. He understands everything that is said to him and can follow three consecutive sets of instructions.
There's no accounting for time. Time will help, which is why we have to have ways for staying patient and not panicking and thus possibly making wrong decisions. My method is becoming, as Alastair's teacher suggests - say what he can do, not what he can't. That way, you don't compare so much (which is pretty depressing) and you are always looking at forward, positive steps. You may be living in a bubble, but it doesn't matter. All the help Alastair gets has to encourage his own drive and desire to catch up and be like Gregor, because, in the end, you can take a horse to water.....
Our therapist wasn't hopeful when she first saw him attempt to eat in 2007. But we got Alastair to eat. With the speaking, last week she told me that hadn't thought he'd talk six months ago. But now she's more optimistic. And so are we. So our challenges are a) not to panic b) take on board the useful bits of advice and swiftly ignore the rest. Sounds obvious, doesn't it?
