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...
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