Hi's & Lo's of Irisha

The small reminders that Irisha is autistic - I'm sitting, listening to near silence when Irisha pipes up and says "god them birds are noisy! All the way outside...No wonder people get angry at them"....me - I have to concentrate to hear them 😳🙁 bless her!

Love this! I've invested in LEGO before!! Love it that bit more now!!

The LEGO Foundation Announces $20 Million to Support Neurodivergent Children The LEGO Foundation has announced that they will be investing $20 million to prompt innovation supporting neurodivergent children.

RSD

This is in Florida and refers to a schools change of procedure to include zips, straight jackets and other restraint for any child if deemed necessary. THAT is going backwards not forwards. Although this is in America - I've tried to sign it because I don't want any child in the world subject to that!

https://chng.it/CNkkmpT9P5

Sign the Petition End Physical Restraints Against the Disabled in PBC Schools

Listen to autistic people and what THEY want, prefer and need!

De-escalation. Sometimes it works, usually once the switch has flipped - there's no coming back. Maybe these will help to stop those switches flipping over 🧡💛💚💙

ADHD

Well, for many years (at least 4 years) Irisha has suffered with her stomach with symptoms coming and going - headache, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, joint pain, thrush...just to name a few. I've been back and forth to peads, with her school, family..trying to work out what it is. We thought milk protein allergy but she can have milk and be fine. After 6 months of very careful diet planning, removing and reintroducing foods...and then reintroducing what I have always (since day 1) thought was the issue....I now know for definite and it's now on her medical file. Irisha has a serious yeast intolerance! It's been masked by anxiety, by her ADHD, by other illnesses as they've come and gone but nope....yeast. Yeast is the problem ingredient!

So...I've decided to make Oreo Irisha's support cat. I've been racking my brain trying to think of ways to reduce Irisha's anxieties when in unknown situations or with unknown/new people...then I realised how in tune Oreo is with Irisha - she avoids Irisha during meltdowns and gives the space but when Irisha is anxious or in sensory overload - she sits/lies near her with gentle head nudges and remains there until Irisha is back to her normal. Oreo is also incredibly curious to go out and often runs outside but is scared to venture further.
Oreo was put in the backpack for the first time today and took to it like a duck to water. Even falling asleep at one point in a chaotic friends house. She's in training atm until she's used to it, once she is, she'll only be going out for appts or unknown situations. Irisha has loved it 🥰

This is my life. Chasing community peads..only to find out I need to chase children's outpatients, to then go back to community to explain the update. I'm trying to avoid the normal 4-6 weeks for clinic reports to be done and sent, to get Irisha back on medication as quickly as possible. She's been off them since Nov for further investigations - now to wait another 6 weeks or so for letters and forms. This is the life of a SEN parent....

My week this week;

Monday -
8:30 dropped Irisha at school
9:00 food shop
12:00 - 15:00 was on SpLD course.
15:15 picked Irisha up from school
15:35 home

Tuesday
8:30 got up and dressed
9:15 - 11:10 cardiology appt for Irisha
11:30 dropped Irisha at school
11:45 - 15:00 meeting/work
15:15 picked Irisha up from school
15:35 home

Wednesday
8:30 got up and got dressed
10:05 left for Irisha's dyspraxia therapy
10:30-11:20 therapy
11:50 drop Irisha off at school
13:00 - 14:30 meeting
15:15 picked Irisha up
16:00 - 17:00 meeting (Irisha was with childcare)
17:20 take Irisha to Brownies
17:30-18:45 Irisha at Brownies. I cleaned and cooked tea then left at 18:35 to pick Irisha up
19:00 home

Thursday
8:30 dropped Irisha, Lexi and Lewis (friends kiddos) to school
9:00 - 15:00 meeting/work

Friday (the plan is...)
8:30 drop Irisha to school
9:00 - 11:00 work
11:15 - 13:15 housework
13:15 - 15:00 errands

There's no way of fitting in a job around caring for a disabled child. I do all these things in the time Irisha's at school because when she's at home, I'm doing housework, washing, Irisha's care and more...I have a good balance esp as I only have Irisha, but imagine having more than one disabled kiddo!

She has not come off it since she finished school! This is the best thing I've bought in recent months! She's happy because she's not sensory seeking around the house which she does CONSTANTLY normally! Mum win 🏆

Does anyone else have their heating on all the time atm, day & night because their sensory asd child won't wear clothes so you gotta heat the house?

Irisha went to watch the footie with her grandma and grandad yesterday, she loved it. Even more so because they won 🪙

Put Irisha's lights up today so she has some calming lights in her room to come down with. She needed them. The bright lights of a bedroom light can be really harsh on someone who suffers with sensory disorder (or sensory from asd). Hopefully the combination of the calming nature and melatonin she takes ends up with an earlier crash time 😆

Irisha is on a major Minecraft boom at the moment. It's all she's playing. Even when she's on Roblox - she's playing 'Minecraft'. Obviously I get requested to join 🙄😂 so I'm getting pretty good at it myself! 👍

media2.giphy.com

The problem when you combine ADHD, Sleep Disorders in combination with melatonin is you can be wide awake eating chocolate brioche in one moment and crashed the next - leading to sleep with chocolate all around ones mouth 😂😂😂

**before anyone comments, she brushes her teeth in the morning and when she gets home from school - mainly because this is how she is every night**

We have many accidents and broken things in our house. Irisha wanting her independence, 3 neurological disorders to overcome - today's was my lid to the sugar jar. I've had these jars since before Irisha was born, but alas...the sugar one is no longer. She was gutted 😢 these things happen 🤷‍♀️😃

So my daughter HATES chips - she never eats them, leaves them every meal I do with them. She will ONLY eat fries from Mc Donald's, every other ones she leaves and I've tried A LOT. Until tonight 🙋‍♀️🙆‍♀️🗣 I did Slimming World chips (home made) today - it was a risk I was willing to take - she ATE them all! Loved them! Requested them again! 1 to me, 0 to Sensory!

*this was my tea, Irisha's was all separate but she wasn't fussed on the chicken fajitas mix*

With her new bike today having a practice. She actually did incredibly well!! Besides from starting and stopping when she needed help, she only needed me to hold her coat. She was amazing! She is amazing!

Irisha has been fighting for her independence the last few days. Today's fight was to toast and butter her own toast. Due to her Dyspraxia, she can't use knives and forks as easily as we can. Her ADHD means she acts impulsively and can't slow down. So doing toast might be easy for other 7yr olds but it's not for Irisha.

Because she realised she could do it.. suddenly there was 6 pieces of slightly buttered toast in a pile 😳😂

Who needs to hear this tonight?

Does your kiddo have a like that you would never of thought would be a like?

I asked my 7yr old, "what do you want for tea?"....and she replies 'brocolli!'...
What's even more surprising is...I actually have it in 🙈 never known a child to like broccoli as much as Irisha! 🥦🥦

It was absolutely freezing!! But, my girly wanted to go out on her scooter so we went out. She enjoyed being on the prom, she enjoys being outdoors.
It was actually really nice to see the night skyline too, of Liverpool.
Anyway Saturday, I'm teaching her to ride her new bike 🤯😂 it's going to be fun with her Dyspraxia 😄

Irisha asked for a funny story about me and her grandad. Mine was when I accidently poked a teacher in the eye in primary school and her grandads was when he was found asleep in a kebab shop drunk 🥴 😂 I'm just waiting for a request for a grandma funny story.
Love when she asks about her family 🖤