one a day update

May 4, 2011 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)50 Comments

I'm rather pleased to have turned the page of my calendar over to May. Not that April wasn't lovely, with unseasonably warm weather and the real start of spring but it did only contain 7 school days for Toby and he does find the lack of term time routine very hard. And, when he's around I am not able to be a person in my own right.

I was thinking about this over the long 4 day weekend that has just gone, I live a double life of sorts. When Toby's at school I can potter around and do housework and some of the things that I enjoy, like reading and knitting and just sitting peacefully with some music. When Toby is in the house I am constantly watching over him, keeping him from harm and doing everything for him that he can't do himself – I am more of an extension of him, bound by his needs and whims to do his bidding or face the consequences of huge outbursts and violent behaviour. I suppose it may sound a bit harsh to an outsider for me to wish the school holidays over with, but I am relieved none the less to have a little peaceful time on my calendar again!

Despite full days, I have still found a little time at the end of them to carry on with my one-a-day squares.

At the start of the Easter break I had this…

and at the end, this…

It's pleasing that there are people out there with a much better handle on maths than me, as I now know that I can make 210 absolutely different squares from my 7 chosen colours. Though now I'm rather wishing that there had been a nice orange to include – the only orange in the same yarn (Amy Butler Belle Organic wool cotton DK) was a little too violent for my liking, but overall I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along.

I'm off now to sneak in a few extra squares, just because I can!

……………………………………………………………………..

The lovely pattern for this blanket is a free one by Solveig and can be found here.

autism

A little Toby update

April 1, 2011 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)44 Comments

Thanks to everyone who has emailed me recently. I am really behind with emails and so hope you'll forgive me if I've not replied yet. A few people have asked about how things are with Toby but there's nothing really to say at the moment. Things are the same with lack of sleep and frequent meltdowns day and night and lots of self harming, mostly hand biting.

We're still waiting for paperwork to be processed on some kind of respite and for further meetings but everything takes so long as it's bound in reams of red tape and procedure, which isn't a lot of help when you're out of energy for chasing and making a nuisance of yourself. We've had a recent meeting with the educational psychologist and Toby has been referred to the challenging behaviour unit and the occupational therapist for sensory assessment. All of which is potentially helpful in the future but not of immediate aid.

Will pop back later with a nicer post of knitted animals after I've been to the mother's day assembly at Amy's school.

autism · general stuff

a bunch of stuff

February 17, 2011 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)132 Comments

I've been reading blogs for 6 years now and I thoroughly enjoy it. I'm especially drawn to creative blogs as I love the mix of real life and crafting that makes each of my favourite blogs personal and unique. I've never though felt the need to leave any unkind or callous comments anywhere – it seems un-necessary because if you come across a post you don't agree with you can simply click out and visit somewhere else, after all reading a blog or leaving a comment isn't compulsory is it?

I wonder then what compels someone to reach out with bitterness and leave a spiteful comment like the one left for me last week? I think I'd have felt rather ashamed at having written something like that in the attempt to shovel a little meanness into someone else's day. My personal view is that such comments always reflect far more badly on the commenter than the person that they're aimed at.

Anyway, let's not dwell on the crappy side of blogging.

Here I've been feeling foxy, although I still haven't managed to knit a whole one – I seem stuck on heads but the bodies will no doubt follow along. I'm feeling impulsive in my knitting at the moment and I think it's something to do with having that lovely new yarn to try out – it's hard to leave it just sitting there waiting to be used!

On the Toby front much is unchanged but I'm filling in lots of charts about sleep patterns, ABC behaviour charts to record and analyse his frequent meltdowns and lists of what worked to calm him at a particular time. This will all help in an upcoming meeting with the educational psychologist and it makes me feel better too because I feel like I'm doing something positive to help him.

I'm signing off for a week or so as next week is half term break. Hopefully when I come back spring will have sprung and I'll find you all feeling happy and frisky! Have a good week all!

……………………………………………………………………………..

_{*An 'ABC' chart can be used to record behavioural concerns. 'A' stands for antecedents, ie what occurs immediately before a behavioural outburst and can include any triggers, signs of distress or environmental information. The 'B' refers to the behaviour itself and is a description of what actually happened during the outburst or what the behaviour 'looked' like. The 'C' refers to the consequences of the behaviour, or what happened immediately after the behaviour. It can also include information regarding other people's responses to the behaviour and the eventual outcome for the individual. In addition, it’s a good idea to keep track of where and when the behaviour occurred to assist in identifying any patterns.}