Tuesday 17th July

A much better day for D. Today was her end-of-term class party and that means one thing for D…..food! Her little nose starts twitching away whenever there’s something cooking and you can guarantee that will be followed by a “Mumma, my tummy says it’s hungry”, even if she’s had her dinner half an hour beforehand!

She wanted to wear her party dress all day – one of only two she owns as she doesn’t get the wear out of them – and this is it:

A sort-of-ballerina type dress, with shorts worn underneath. (I forgot to get a picture of her in it 😳)

She walked the last 1/3 of the way to school, it was nice to have a dry school run and was promptly gushed over by staff when she arrived. I’d said she could wear one of my Lola Rose necklaces too (they’re made out of stones & completely hypo-allergenic) so she was looking very much like a little princess this morning. She had a bit of reluctance going into class but that was quickly forgotten about and she went in happily.

Such a contrast from yesterday, that is the predictable unpredictability of autism for you!

She came out at the end of the day very tired but happy. She’d watched the other children play games and had some crisps! Still wearing her dress, still looking lovely!

In her bag was some of the work she’s been doing at school and one of the pieces I HAD to share:

It’s a very football-focussed household at times with T and Hubbie being involved with a local team and watching practically every programme that involves a ball being kicked so.. the “I don’t like football matches” comment tickled me – that’s my girl!!

There was some other great work, some of which I’ll put on this week, both Hubbie and I are very proud of the “independent” work she’s done – but the folder says “Foundation stage” so I presume they were working to an age 4/5 level? Not sure.

She got very very upset & tearful just before bedtime over a playmobil character and the fact she couldn’t put their hair on. She loves these “small people” as nursery used to describe them, she doesn’t do imaginative play with them, just likes to hold them and carry them around, bless her.

So..that’s our day, as different as it can be from yesterday, life with D is never ever boring!

Thanks for reading, comments/RTs as ever welcomed Jx 😘

Our experience with PECs

When D was diagnosed at age 4.5 years old, we were aware that her speech was stilted and therefore speech & language skills were delayed.

The mainstream nursery she was in at the time adopted the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) with her with regard to the timetable at school (it took a further year and two attempts to get her a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and during that time she had a 1:1 teacher for 25 hours per week – basically the whole school day excluding break times & lunchtimes).

For those not aware of PECS, this is a form of alternative communication that uses pictures instead of words to help children communicate. For example, there could be a set of pictures with a child’s favourite items on (train, apple, drink etc) when the child wants an item, the child gives his/her care provider the relevant card and is then handed the item. This exchange reinforces communication. It can also be used to comment on things seen or heard in the environment – for example, an airplane flying overhead, and the card is then used – in children who are able to verbalise, the word could also be used as the card is passed from care provider to child.

In D’s case, she is verbal but her speech can become stilted with anxiety or during a meltdown and I use PECS symbols/charts to try and bring her back from her anxious place and to move forward from a situation.

We have PECS charts at home for the days of the week:

Strategy for coping when she gets cross/anxious (this does not always work, it depends on the severity of the anxiety):

The primary aim of the one above is to prevent her from self-harming, we have quite a few of those dotted around the house!

And a chart to try and alleviate anxiety when we are out:

We also have PECS symbols and a Velcro board which detail the evening routine but I don’t find these as effective with D as she is always fascinated by the little cut outs and ends up loosing them under her bed. Charts, attached to the wall, with symbols on, are a much better solution for us.

When she was younger we did try sticker charts, but again the appeal of small things that could be removed was a big appeal for her.

One wall of D’s classroom in her SN school is covered with PECS charts detailing the day/week/month, the weather, the timetable, the names of the children and the red/orange/green behaviour chart. It’s a very visual, positive reinforcement for the children as to the order of the day.

Thanks for reading, Jx