Well, I suppose I have in a way. Gone to the sunny? Northwest. The most popular resort in the UK. A very different place to live compared to the rather sleepy, tranquil village in Kent. It has been abit of a bodyshock really. And it has been months since I updated my blog. Well, I cant possibly relate all that has happened. We have been here seven months now and I would have to sit here for a further seven to enter everything.

So, a quick guide to how life for has changed for all of us. Changed for our three older children too,  2 in Kent and 1 in Hertfordshire (how much we miss them). One has his own flat now, one has another child, so we are grandparents twice over, and one is doing well in all areas where, perhaps, it was a struggle. We are so proud of them all and what they achieve and we think of them everyday. We talk to them all regularly, which is so important. Communication is a vital part of any relationship.

 

Which leads rather nicely to the subject of Asa. So much has changed for him. He has a new house and is in a becdroom now. He adapted to this well except for his sleeping pattern, such as it is, was thrown way out. For the 1st six weeks I had very little sleep and that was hard, particularly as we were trying to furnsih an almost bare house and sort out schools for both him and Bethany. And trying to adapt to the northern way of life.

 

We obtained a place for him at the local school for children with severe learning and physical difficulties and, I have to say, he has progressed so well. He settled in very quickly and the school took to him straight away. That was a huge relief. the school has an excellent reputation and rightly so.

 

Bethany has settled well too. She can now walk to school and she has made a good circle of friends. She is settled and happy at school (particularly as they seem to get very little homework).

 

The big change really is that Asa has stopped drinking milk!! From 8 pints + a day to nothing. It wasnt a gradual thing. He just stopped! Now he is becoming very responsive and he is starting to say words! I never thought he would talk, we had tried so hard using all sorts of methods to no avail but now he happily repeats words.... Bethany is Be'a'my. It  is wonderful. He says Mummy so clearly, daddy not quite so clearly but it will come.

 

On the downside perhaps, he is getting very clever at "stealing" things from rooms he shouldnt be in. He has cracked the special lock we put on the bathroom door, raids Bethanys' room when she forgets to lock it, (she has a coded lock on her door) and has stolen some of my treasured crystal collection.

 

His temper is fierce now too and his tolerance level is less forgiving. If I tidy and clean his room, which I have to do at least once a week for hygeine reasons, he goes ballistic!!!

 

We do not attempt a supermarket shop with him anymore, it is too hard to deal with. I shop on-line in the school holidays.

 

Life has changed radically, although we still have the everchanging challenges facing us as a family, that all other families that have a child with autism have to face. These challenges change constantly and there are unknown experiences ahead, some good, some bad.

 

But we have much to be thankful for. we have a close loving family, those near and those far away, which is more than a lot of people have.

 

I promise to update this blog regularly, hopefully to show how life with autism is hard, but is interesting and can be fun.

Talking of fun, amid all the chaos, our cat had five kittens.They are now seven weeks old and at this very moment in time they are tearing around getting up to all sorts of  mischief! Chewing my stairs at the minute. (Aaargh)

 

Hurry up Matthew, Come and get your two Little bundles of fun!