Happy Birthday Mikey

Another month bites the dust...

life as i've mentioned before is pretty hectic and due to Mikeys adoption of our computer and my laptop being unreliable power wise i've not had the chance to update.

So... yesterday Mikey celebrated his 4th birthday. He was joined by many of our friends and family at our home.
it was all a bit too much for mikey... i had hoped he would respond in the same was as he did the year before when he turned 3, but this time was different and he spent alot of time introverting. of course he came out when someone presented him with a gift though which was polite of him :)

Mikey received lots of vehicle toys and some things to help him draw aswell as some blocks amongst other lovely gifts. from mummy n daddy mikey was given a brand new suit for church, a train/car play table and a really big blackboard attached to the brick wall in the rumpus room.
After opening lots of presents and being greeted by alot of people, we had some chicken and chips from charcoal chicken and some salad... after which mikey sung happy birthday to himself with everyone else and blew out his number 4 candle - took a mudcake and then went back to his new toys and his little friends.

The day after being today i was so excited for us to go to church so that mikey could rock up all spiffy in his new suit but he had other plans - laying down and doing nothing. can i blame him? it was a great plan for him. Belle was probably looking forward to going to church and so has been relatively bored all day... Daddy n Mummy have also needed a recovery day so it all worked out in the end. And the house was a bit of a mess after the party so it was good to be able to rest and then clean up.

Mikey's Autism is in the process of being relooked at just more or less for an updated assessment so that we know where we're going... i'll update the blog when that comes through - although it looks to be unchanged.

we talked to his Peadiatrician about the toilet training and medication in the sense that i've heard of other ASD kids who are put on a medication which helps them to focus more... in mikeys case he's neither anxious, hyperactive or having sleep disorder... so none of the medications would be suitable and therefore we just have to wait for mikey to develop on his own with regards to that...
not exactly something i was overly excited to hear... not that i want mikey on meds... i was just hoping that there might be something to make things a little easier and it turns out theres not so nothing really changes there.

Coralie, Mikey's OT, has put mikey back to fortnightly visits, when i asked sort of why that was... she shrugged and said that i can keep him going weekly if i want him to but that fortnightly would be adequate... the at home exercises have stopped too...

Dr Erikson shrugged his shoulders aswell when i asked him HOW i could help TT mikey... he suggested a few things, told me that it might work, then shrugged his shoulders and told me that it also might not work and that despite him making some progress as an individual he's not making leaps and bounds like some other higher functioning children might...

Neva, Coralie, Dr Erikson and Naomi (yarran) all seem to not expect any huge changes in mikey, they continue to try obviously, and help him with exercises... and while i've always received inspiration that this would be the case... i feel let down that the things they've had me exhaust myself doing, is all there is to it. how can this Early Intervention and therapy be so limited?

I am comforted by knowing though that despite it all being somewhat a waste of time or money in one mindset... it's most definetely not in another and that would be that he is learning that there are places and times where he needs to behave a certain way and while this is hard for him and it throws him right out of whack that night or the next day.. it is something he needs to learn will happen throughout his life.
it would be nice if it wasn't so difficult though.

Mikey's progression to school still elludes me as i wonder where he'll go and for how long... After talking to mum and the department of education i feel that mikey will be better of beginning at the school for Autism at Terrigal and they will transition mikey to an appropriate school when they feel he is ready.
So our next step is to contact Coast to Coast psycology and arrange for mikey to have a Psychometric Test which is basically an IQ test and this will then go with his school enrollment application.