Well, Asa does not dream much because Asa does not sleep much! I have worked out the average hours of sleep I have had and it works out at three hours a night for the past month. I am, I have to say, a little tired. Of course, being the school holidays makes it harder as I have more "incidents" to clear up as well as the constant supervision he requires.

Autism is a strange thing and Asa, although severely autistic, is growing rapidly into a beautiful young man. His behaviour does change, not always for the better, but I see in him the man he will become. This is not the man I would have wished him to become, an independent, confident, successful and, most of all, happy person. He will never be all those things but he will be happy and confident. He will enrich other peoples' lives as he has enriched ours. He has qualities that without his autism he would not have. The depth in his eyes, the creativeness in his floor art, even his ability to relieve the respite home of their medicine cups despite the fact that they watch him closeley, all this, and more, contributes to the amazing young person he is.

Of course there are major problems with his care and our lives have changed beyond all recognition in a way I would not have anticipated but, I can see beyond all this. One day, my son will  grow up into a handsome man, with people around him who live and care for him. His special qualities will touch other peoples' lives,  hopefully,  he will be an inspiration to other parents who are worried about the future for their child. He will be able to say to them (though not in words), "Look at me! I am happy, I am healthy, I have quality of life, I am loved."

You see, I do not need to sleep to dream. I have my dreams without the need for sleep and I know my dreams will come true. I hope yours do too.

OK. Well it is now 24th July 2009. I am determined to add to this blog on a regular basis. So much happens, we learn to deal with different situations and problems but they can be forgotten. So a written record is useful to us as well as being helpul to others, maybe.
Asa  is now 13, Bethany is 14. I cannot believe that the two "babies" of the family are now teenagers. We are at the end of the first week of the long summer holidays. Much as I love having my children with me, Asa is extremely hard work, constant supervision and cleaning are a normal part of my life and sleep is still infrequent.

However, we are getting a lot of support and help, there are people here that really want to assist us with the difficulties we face. There is progress in some areas. I have had Asas' window open (on a restricter) and, to my knowledge, he has not thrown anything out. That was something he would do if there was the slightest gap. Whether he will start to do it again remains to be seen as his behaviour does go in cycles.

I am on a constant watch for his undesirable behaviour, (smearing), and if I catch him in time it is much less mess to clear up. What I need is a mobile phone sized wireless monitor that is portable. I can then wear it round my neck as well as the bathroom key so wherevre I am in the house or garden I can see what he is doing.

Yesterday we went to SPACE, a multi sensory building in Preston, with Tiggers. If anyone is looking for a charity to donate to you couldn't find a better cause. Tiggers provides out of hours sports and leisure provision for children and young people on the autistic spectrum, as well as their families. It is a small charity, doing invaluable work, with a wonderful team of volunteers. They certainly enable Asa to access activities he could not have done before.

Now about food! Asa, as mentioned before, has a very limited diet and he loves cheddar biscuits which are a horrendous price in supermarkets. Last week I went to one of our local bargain shops and they were selling them for half the supermarket price, so Bruce went back today and bought 40 packets!! That should last a few days.

Look at the picture of Asa in the hanging chair taken yesterday at Space. He was so relaxed and loved it. I wonder if we can get one?