Nothing much to say, so I've been a bit quiet again. Boeboe is done with exams, and with extremely hard work and dedication she seems to be passing. So that's all good. The fact that it went with many a screaming session, we'll just forget. Like always. :-D
I'm not sure what I've reported on and what not, so I apologise if some things are repeated.
We've spoken to Boeboe at long last. I decided to put a positive spin on the way we told her about having autism. It may have worked too well, because what she took out of it, was that her brain was very special and unique and clever. :D They psychologist had a few sessions directly after with her, and said it was the perfect way for Boeboe, and we should leave her with the impression SHE wanted to take out of it. So all was fine in the end. She wanted to tell her brothers, which we then did as well. Monkeyman wasn't bothered by the "big reveal" much. Mr N on the other hand, immediately understood some of the more serious implications, and I actually noticed tears in his eyes. I've since quietly pointed signs out to him, when she acted out an autistic trait like taking things too literal or struggling to comprehend something. And it has definately made him act more sympathetically towards her overall. Which is exactly what we hoped to achieve by telling the boys. So again, all's good.
I've also had a meeting with the teachers, and even asked some of her future highschool teachers (my collegues) to sit in, so that they can know what they deal with from the start of next year. The meeting went very, very well, was very positive, very well received, and has immediately lead to most teachers treating her with more sympathy, understanding and support. Again, exactly what we wanted and hoped for! Another reason for it to be going so well. :-)
Boeboe is finished for now at her psychologist. We've had a parent feedback session, and it was very helpful. She again went through all the criteria to be diagnosed with ASD and explained to us why Boeboe fits the criteria. She's certain that the psychiatrist's diagnosis is correct, and thrilled at Boeboe's progress throughout the years. She said it's astonishing when she looks at her notes from when Boeboe was 6, to what she has achieved now at age 12. She said that we've done very well with Boeboe, especially in the way we looked for help when and where it was needed. And that we've done more for Boeboe than what most parents do for their kids. That surprised me, and of course touched me. It made me happy with the decisions we've made, but also made me sad if that's not the care that most other kids get. :-( It should be a child's right, not true? In any case, I'm glad that Boeboe was doing so well, accordingly to the psychologist. She was stable on her meds, she wasn't depressed any more, she was happy, very well adapted in her (new) school, and was progressing in all areas. Still years behind her peers, but as long as she kept on improving at her own pace, we've accepted it. The psychologist said two things that stood out for her. One was, given what she started working with at age 6, she felt that it's amazing that Boeboe hasn't failed at least one year so far at school. She said given everything, Boeboe should've failed. So for us to have pulled her through, shows our dedication and that we took the right approaches when necessary. The second thing was that the move to the new school a year ago, was absolutely the right (and best) decision, again at the right time. I could've just cried when she said that. It is so very, very difficult to know if you've done right by your child. For someone to give you that confirmation from a professional point of view, was amazing to hear. So again, all is well!
It's going really well with me as well. I'm so very, very happy in my job. Still. I still love every moment of it. I'm still so grateful for this opportunity to have come along. This year, I'm only teaching high school classes. One maths and 2 computer science. It keeps me busy until around 12pm every day. Afternoons is mine to take care of the kids, drive them around, help them with studying, etc. And I don't nearly work as hard at night as I did last year. Now that I have most things set in place already. I even take most weekends "off", unlike last year. I truly feel like I've been working half days now. And Peanut is adoring school and her friends and teacher, which makes me of course really happy to go to work. It's awesome to only be about 10m's away from her though. She's still my baby. :-)
It's also going "ok" with Monkeyman. He's still awfully tired. And concerning to me, very pale. Even more than usual. A few days ago I also realised that he's getting a "gaunt" look to his body and the angles in his face. It's really worrying me. Thank goodness my friend gave me an electronic scale recently, so I'm going to keep a close eye on his weight for a while and see what's up. So far it looks like he is loosing weight. His apetite is really bad. Which, for him, is strange. I'm used to it for my eldest 2, but not him. He always ate well, since he was a tiny baby. But the past 3 months he has declined at least one meal a day. :-(
We did the enzyme bloodtest the one doctor still wanted us to do, and then put him back on the vitathion. Again, like always, I could notice a definite difference overall in his behaviour after being back on it for about 3 weeks. Wish a doctor could tell me WHY that is. Oh, the enzyme test was, as expected, negative. So it's not a hidden musculur dystrophy or such, thank goodness. We need to take him to a GP soon, because of his reflux. He's on extremely high doses, so high that the medical aid has to be phoned every month to explain why before they pay. Still, he gets break-through nausea spells. I'm guessing he'll need a gastroscopy soon. :-( The thought of putting him (and his struggling heart) through anaesthesia again is making ME nauseous! Last time, it took him exactly 4 weeks to recover from 30 minutes of anaesthesia.
Mr N is doing "ok" as well. Very happy at school, working hard like he should in high school, but also playing hard. He loves life at the moment, I can see that. My boy is happy. :-) The only worry with him is that his one teacher and I both noticed something once (and not again), that made us think it could've been an absence seizure. I'm pretty sure, because it looked EXACTLY like it used to, when he was diagnosed at age 5. So he's seeing a neurologist in April and they'll do an EEG.
The boys both had their birthdays! Monkeyman turned 8, and Mr N 15. Both had small parties at school, and their grandparents came to visit them. Mr N then had to leave on a school camp on his birthday, which turned out to be loads of fun and he had a great time. Even though he actually didn't want to go (it was mandatory for all kids).
So that's the news for February. Nothing much exciting happening, thank goodness. Same old same old. Hoping the rest of March would be the same! We're going camping during the upcoming school holidays. I'm really looking forward to just spending time with the kids playing board games all day, taking them swimming, reading, watching them try to catch fish, etc.
