Since Joshua was born he has always been our quirky little soul. He was fast to talk and fast to walk and all seemed well with the world. Sure people told us he was hard to understand at times but we were reassured he would grow out of that. He also was super sensitive to tactile things so we got him used to dirt, sand and goop. He still insisted that we cut the tags out of his clothes until recently though. He was also super hearing boy. "What's that?" he would ask about a rustle three aisles away in the Warehouse. His sensitivity to sound had us abandon birthday parties with screechy balloons, and fireworks night required heavy duty earmuffs. He was also super smell boy, "Ewwwwwwwww what is that smell?" he would often ask at the top of his lungs with great potential for embarrassment. So yeah he has always been quirky. When all the other kids were trying to get a goal at soccer he was at the back of the field spinning in his own little world. Quirky....
When he was 2 he was the boy who hated getting dirty. When he was 3 he was the only child who wouldn't play with cars. When he was 4 he was the child who would avoid coloring in. When he was 5 he was the child having panic attacks and obsessing about what might kill him. When he was 6 he was the one coming up with 101 reasons why he shouldn't do writing today. When he was 7 he was the child who felt bullied and intimidated at school, who started having panic attacks at home again, who hated to write and would cry in frustration that he had forgotten the spelling words he knew he had learnt. And now he is 7.5yrs old and is the child who has dyspraxia and understands why he doesn't like to write, why it hurts him to write, why he gets frustrated, why he can't tie his shoes, why he forgets his spelling, why he gets anxious and why he feels different from the other kids. Now we know why Joshua is the delightful quirky child that he is we feel the only way to go from here is UP!! Knowing he has dyspraxia means that we can give him the help and support he needs and hopefully his anxiety and frustration levels will drop. Hopefully one day he will see it not as a pain but as a gift.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Unexpected....
Joshua just told me that he plans to marry a Japanese girl in his class when he is older..... I asked why and he said "Cause she is cute" I laughed and he told me off. And then he said..."If she doesn't want me I will find some other girl... adults don't cry you know!" I corrected him and said "Yes we do!" And he answered "Well I am going to be a brave adult" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Secret identity
IMG_8427
Originally uploaded by 3lilgreenthings
Spidergirl tries hard not to let her true identity be discovered
Wow time flies....
It has been a very very long time since my last post.
Joshua is 6 now and in his second year at school. His first year was "interesting" with a period of extreme anxiety and OCD-like behaviours. We figured it was stress related and tried hard to pin-point the stress and deal with the anxiety. An amazing friend happened to put two and two toegther from a few random musings I made during a facebook chat session and suggested that we get his visual processing tested. She was 100% correct. He had a very bad visual processing disorder and couldn't track across his midline. This wasn't picked up at school as he was reading really well. And that is why he was soooooooo stressed out we think. The mammoth effort to read and play soccer and do all the other things 5 yr olds do became overwhelming for him. He scored zero on many of the tests. The behavioural optometrist was surprised he could read at all. So that was the start of 10 weeks intense visual training. 20mins a day doesn't sound like much but it was hard work for both of us. It was worth all the hard work though. At the end of the 10 weeks and just after his 6th birthday his visual processiing was retested. On a couple of the tests he got zero for originally he was now scoring at 8 yr old level!!!!!!!!! We were so proud of him.
It is quite funny reading my post below about him being a space cadet on the soccer field. Because what we didn't know then was that he couldn't actually track the ball at all. As soon as it crossed in front of him he couldn't see it anymore. Joshua still sees visual static that he calls his sparklies and we are not sure if they will ever leave him BUT he is reading above his age level and is really happy and enjoying school. YAY!!!
He is madly into anything related to space, science or machines and we still have many deep and meaningful conversations. Recent topics have been his theory of reincarnation and his theory of gravity. Never a dull moment!!
Xander and Maia have developed in to real little people now. They have very strong and distinct personalities.
Xander is our goof ball. He is witty and clever. He comes out with funny unexpected things. This morning for example, he pointed to the window next to our bed and said "It is dark outside. There are ghosts out there." And then with creepy hand movements and a quiet creepy voice he whispered "they are coming to get me" and then cracked up laughing. Aside from being our goofy cuddly social butterfly he is also the worlds biggest whinger when he doesn't get his own way. It is quite amazing how quickly the happy go-lucky Xander crumples into a heap on the ground and is replaced with Sir Whinge-a-lot!! Just as well his goofiness and cuddles make up for it the rest of the time.
Maia is still physically the strongest of the lot. She climbs crazy things and throws herself from heights for a laugh. She is not so brave socially though. She takes a wee while to warm to people. She knows her own mind already though and is not afraid to express it. She makes dressing a fine art and I can feel my hair turning grey in the morning when she refuses one outfit after another (three choices and then I pick is the new strategy and seems to be helping her decide more quickly) She also understands cause and affect really well. After having a day off preschool with a sore tummy Maia has learnt sick = time alone with Mummy and possibly treats. So last Friday after dropping Joshua off at school I said "Right we are off to preschool now" and a little voice from the back of the car pipes up "I not go to preschool. I sick....(fake) cough, cough" I laughed out loud!! She is trying to get a sickie from preschool and she isn't three yet ....what am I in for?? She has the cheekiest grin ever and you can't help but smile when she gives you that grin (much better than the other LOOK she has perfected!!!)
So much for a quick update... Promise the next post won't be so long in the making...
Joshua is 6 now and in his second year at school. His first year was "interesting" with a period of extreme anxiety and OCD-like behaviours. We figured it was stress related and tried hard to pin-point the stress and deal with the anxiety. An amazing friend happened to put two and two toegther from a few random musings I made during a facebook chat session and suggested that we get his visual processing tested. She was 100% correct. He had a very bad visual processing disorder and couldn't track across his midline. This wasn't picked up at school as he was reading really well. And that is why he was soooooooo stressed out we think. The mammoth effort to read and play soccer and do all the other things 5 yr olds do became overwhelming for him. He scored zero on many of the tests. The behavioural optometrist was surprised he could read at all. So that was the start of 10 weeks intense visual training. 20mins a day doesn't sound like much but it was hard work for both of us. It was worth all the hard work though. At the end of the 10 weeks and just after his 6th birthday his visual processiing was retested. On a couple of the tests he got zero for originally he was now scoring at 8 yr old level!!!!!!!!! We were so proud of him.
It is quite funny reading my post below about him being a space cadet on the soccer field. Because what we didn't know then was that he couldn't actually track the ball at all. As soon as it crossed in front of him he couldn't see it anymore. Joshua still sees visual static that he calls his sparklies and we are not sure if they will ever leave him BUT he is reading above his age level and is really happy and enjoying school. YAY!!!
He is madly into anything related to space, science or machines and we still have many deep and meaningful conversations. Recent topics have been his theory of reincarnation and his theory of gravity. Never a dull moment!!
Xander and Maia have developed in to real little people now. They have very strong and distinct personalities.
Xander is our goof ball. He is witty and clever. He comes out with funny unexpected things. This morning for example, he pointed to the window next to our bed and said "It is dark outside. There are ghosts out there." And then with creepy hand movements and a quiet creepy voice he whispered "they are coming to get me" and then cracked up laughing. Aside from being our goofy cuddly social butterfly he is also the worlds biggest whinger when he doesn't get his own way. It is quite amazing how quickly the happy go-lucky Xander crumples into a heap on the ground and is replaced with Sir Whinge-a-lot!! Just as well his goofiness and cuddles make up for it the rest of the time.
Maia is still physically the strongest of the lot. She climbs crazy things and throws herself from heights for a laugh. She is not so brave socially though. She takes a wee while to warm to people. She knows her own mind already though and is not afraid to express it. She makes dressing a fine art and I can feel my hair turning grey in the morning when she refuses one outfit after another (three choices and then I pick is the new strategy and seems to be helping her decide more quickly) She also understands cause and affect really well. After having a day off preschool with a sore tummy Maia has learnt sick = time alone with Mummy and possibly treats. So last Friday after dropping Joshua off at school I said "Right we are off to preschool now" and a little voice from the back of the car pipes up "I not go to preschool. I sick....(fake) cough, cough" I laughed out loud!! She is trying to get a sickie from preschool and she isn't three yet ....what am I in for?? She has the cheekiest grin ever and you can't help but smile when she gives you that grin (much better than the other LOOK she has perfected!!!)
So much for a quick update... Promise the next post won't be so long in the making...
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Joy
Joshua has had a great first term at school. He is reading a number of words now (20+) and his drawing is coming along wonderfully. He was awarded the Kiwi GYm Fun Badge Level 1 at Gym club and has almost mastered his level of swimming. He had his first game of soccer on Friday night as well. He had a tummy bug on Thursday so was pretty tired for the game. It was quite funny watching him.....there is the ball must chase it...ohhhh look at the clouds....oh the ball....wonder what is happening over there?.....oh yeah the ball....hey look I can cartwheel..... He was our lil space cadet on the field LOL. But his team won and he had a fun game which is all that really matters.
Maia is trying to make me go grey (like Brian LOL) She took a ride-on up on to the deck and fell down the stairs and bashed her head. We spent two hours in the A&E just in case but she is fine. It was quite funny because when the nurse took her pulse Maia could touch the pulse meter gadget and she reached forward to the power button to turn it off. The nurse was shocked LOL She said in all her years she has never had a child go straight for the off button. Ahhh thats our lil engineer :o)
We have had a break through with Xander and Maia's salicylate intolerance and they are eating a much wider range of foods now thanks to enzymes called no-fenol. They help their bodies breakdown the salicylates correctly and help stop overload reactions. You should have seen Xanders face when he ate grapes for the first time... pure ectasy!!!
Twins are funny to watch. Whenever I give Xander food he stands there and says "Maia?" and I have to give him Maia's too. He will then run to give Maia hers before eating his. However if Maia is given food she will take hers and wander off. Then if Xander is still eating when she has finished she will steal his. Xander is definitely the more thoughtful twin LOL
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Best Effort
Joshua won the effort trophy at Gymnastics class this week.As you can see he was thrilled!!
Long time no see....
WOW It has been a very long time since I blogged.
Joshua turned 5 in December and started school. I had to ask him for a hug on his first day as he was so keen to get on with it!!! I should have known it wouldn't be a problem when he kissed a girl in his class on his second school visit!! He has made friends very quickly and we hear an awful lot about a wee boy named Dylan these days.
He has a new teacher this year called Mrs Embling. She is lovely. The poor thing broke her foot in two places before the start of term though and was in a moon boot. Joshua thought that was great. Although one afternoon Brian and I were talking about her broken foot and then went on to talk about a car accident Brian saw and Joshua got quite cross and said "Stop talking about broken humans" LOL He has a funny way of phrasing things sometimes.
Maia and Xander (AKA Horrace and Dorris) are great. Whoever said the first year with twins was hard was lying!!! At the moment I think the second year is way harder LOL. They are definitely developing their individuality. Maia has a particularly cheeky personality and "No" is one of her clearest words. Xander is much more amicable (during the day anyway... don't ask about night time eekkk) and seeks out cuddles regularly. They both have a number of words now but Xander has the odd phrase ("want bubble bath") They both sign and say "more" very clearly LOL.
Maia is an absolute daredevil and knows no fear!!! Xander is hugely strong and can use brute force to get his way sometimes. They look for each other as soon as they wake up and have started giving each other cuddles and kisses. Very cute.
The twins are still on a restricted diet but I am waiting on enzymes arriving from the states that may allow us to increase the variety of fruits and veges they eat. I hope it works!!
Will try to update more regularly again now I seem to be getting a bit more sleep (hope I didn't jinx it ;o)
Joshua turned 5 in December and started school. I had to ask him for a hug on his first day as he was so keen to get on with it!!! I should have known it wouldn't be a problem when he kissed a girl in his class on his second school visit!! He has made friends very quickly and we hear an awful lot about a wee boy named Dylan these days.
He has a new teacher this year called Mrs Embling. She is lovely. The poor thing broke her foot in two places before the start of term though and was in a moon boot. Joshua thought that was great. Although one afternoon Brian and I were talking about her broken foot and then went on to talk about a car accident Brian saw and Joshua got quite cross and said "Stop talking about broken humans" LOL He has a funny way of phrasing things sometimes.
Maia and Xander (AKA Horrace and Dorris) are great. Whoever said the first year with twins was hard was lying!!! At the moment I think the second year is way harder LOL. They are definitely developing their individuality. Maia has a particularly cheeky personality and "No" is one of her clearest words. Xander is much more amicable (during the day anyway... don't ask about night time eekkk) and seeks out cuddles regularly. They both have a number of words now but Xander has the odd phrase ("want bubble bath") They both sign and say "more" very clearly LOL.
Maia is an absolute daredevil and knows no fear!!! Xander is hugely strong and can use brute force to get his way sometimes. They look for each other as soon as they wake up and have started giving each other cuddles and kisses. Very cute.
The twins are still on a restricted diet but I am waiting on enzymes arriving from the states that may allow us to increase the variety of fruits and veges they eat. I hope it works!!
Will try to update more regularly again now I seem to be getting a bit more sleep (hope I didn't jinx it ;o)
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