William is at his happiest in the great outdoors. He's recently discovered the wonders of a scooter, and has been zooming around the garden and beyond with great skill, far more confident than his brother at that age. He has shown some sense of awareness on the scooter that he doesn't show when walking. He seems to know that bumping into a wall will probably not be a good idea and will jump off the scooter like a pro. Yet walking in front of cars he will do quite merrily if not grabbed. He walks confidently pushing his scooter, with care and ease. Yet without it he will run and walk erratically and his mind is everywhere other than where it should be. It's frustrating but I'm pleased that we have found a possible window into his personality using wheels, and maybe an aid to his behaviour problems.
William is also a water baby, and the glorious weather has meant we could have the paddling pool out - cue William whipping his pants off before its even been filled! He loves to splash and squeal with his brother, and more often than not everyone will be soaked, much to his amusement.
Alex sometimes finds holidays a bit hard. Most families with a 4 and 6 year old would be expecting the kids to amuse themselves to a point. But because William doesn't really talk, that is difficult for Alex. They still squabble like any other siblings, but they can't play games together due to the high level of adult support William needs in order to understand things. He often needs things repeating many many times before its understood, and that doesn't guarantee he will retain it. But we manage, and Alex is understanding how he can help William by being a good role model.
This week we've had William actively seeking hugs and will say "cuddles". Tonight as I put him to bed we played some Igglepiggle games then I told him it was time for sleep. He said "cuddles" and "mwah", giving me a little 'kiss' (his version is a mild headbutt but its the right body part at least). I told him I loved him and he said "shush shush" which was awesome 😊 I think he understands its to do with the cuddles and its a bit mumsy.
Lesson learned this week is that we need to go with the flow when it comes to activities. A farm visit we had was of no interest to William where the animals were concerned, but the big-assed bouncy slide of doom was. We find it easier to have another adult with us on our journeys, so William always has 1 to 1 and mum and dad can spend valuable time with Alex doing stuff he likes. Alex is an animal lover and was in his element holding baby birds and bunnies.
We're also getting regular loving interaction from William which is fabulous and long overdue for us. A far cry from earlier days when he shunned our presence.
A good week. No. A bloody AWESOME week!
No comments:
Post a Comment