Couch to 5k - Completed!, Christmas Buffet high tea at the Swisshotel, ABA session with T2

Well its been a very busy couple of days.  This morning I finished the Couch to 5k program.  Hooray!  For the next 2 weeks I plan on running 5km 3-4 times a week before extending my runs.  My next aim is 10km!

This morning I did an ABA session with T2.  I was really worried about behavioural problems because I haven't done a session with him for about a month.  Anyway he was really good and did really well on many targets, like riding a bike, pronouns, occupation functions, mazes etc.  But he is still  getting confused with some where/when questions and having trouble making up stories.  For reinforcement we did chasing where I pretended to be a dinosaur or a ghost, roly poly with a blanket where I roll him up in a blanket and then he does the same to me, alphabet puzzle (sigh!) reading books and a snack.  Reinforcement is so important in ABA, just as it is in life.

After that, my mother-in-law, my eldest and I went to the city to the Swissotel for a Christmas High Tea buffet.  It was AMAZING.  I bought a Groupon voucher so it was very reasonably priced.  When I wanted to bring my eldest they only charged $20 extra for him to come (this included full buffet, orange juice and a hot chocolate!).  I asked to speak to the chef about my eldest's peanut allergy and there was only one dish with peanuts.  And there was a chocolate fountain!  We were all in food heaven and were seated in a quiet window seat together.  What a fantastic afternoon.   It was my eldest's last day as a 10 year old.  I can't believe it!

T1 and T2 would have ripped into these pressies :-)

Savouries

Don't you love, love, love a buffet?  I do

I should have had some fruit salad - but I did have strawberries dipped in chocolate :-)

Santa strawberries!

love these meringue snowmen

a peach something cocktail - yummo!

hot chocolate for my eldest - and his hands

my favourite oriental teapots

Best Christmas Ever! & Week 9 of Couch to 5k, tragic news

On Christmas Eve I ran 5km and although it took me over 30 minutes I really tried to step up the pace.  No run on Christmas Day (I'm not that dedicated yet!).  Today I ran the 5km course but decided not to time myself, as it was getting me a little down.  So instead I decided to push it a little and just listen to my body.

Christmas Eve seems like a long time ago.  In the afternoon we took our 3 boys to the cinema to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  I was confident that my eldest and T1 would love it but was quite unsure about T2.  Its a long time for him to sit still.  I stocked up on snacks potato chips, popcorn packets, apples, lollipops and T2 munched his way through it all - but overall he was really good in the movie.  Its really important to me to drag him along to outings, otherwise I worry he'll never be 'ready'.
All the boys were really excited the night before the big day.  I was a little worried the day would start at 3am, but luckily T2 was first up at 5.30am and we got him to hop in with us until after 6, when T1 woke up.

 I was really happy with how excited they were, how interested they were in opening (and playing with!) all their pressies.  One of the (few:-)) advantages of parenting a child with autism is that a parent doesn't take ANYTHING for granted.  The Mario WiU game was popular with all the boys, T1 has been playing with his Skylanders and T2 loves his Furby and his.. ahem... alphabet puzzle.  I was justt happy he wasn't too into the alphabet puzzle.  We had family over and the boys were just so calm all day and behaved really well at the table during Christmas Lunch.  I even got a chance to read and eat chocolate.  Whenever anyone asks what I want I always say a good book and some good chocolate and some time to read and eat.  It absolutely poured with rain ALL day and luckily we have table tennis under the carport which was popular with our guests and my eldest and T1.

hard at work!

A Furby has joined the family - his name is Bee- Boo!

A good old Aussie pav!

THE fruitcake - 30 days in the making.

Beautiful fresh cherries

Such a happy day.  No tears, no fights, no screaming.  Everyone was so lovely to each other, happy and well-behaved.  At times we had 10 people in the house.  It could have gotten overwhelming but thankfully it didn't.  If every Christmas Day from now on is as happy as this one I will be very happy.  I hope your Christmas was as happy as mine was.

I wasn't sure whether to mention it but I just read the heartbreaking news that a little boy with autism, Connor Graham Elliott, has drowned in Australia.  This is so tragic, poor little soul.  I mentioned the troubling rates of children on the spectrum drowning in an earlier post.  I don't know the answer, or what can be done about it.  I wish something could be done about this.  T2 loves water and one of my worst fears is that he may drown.  He is a competent swimmer thanks to all the swimming lessons but murky rivers are a different thing.  My heart goes out to this poor little boy and his family.  May Connor rest in peace.

Couch to 5k Week 8 - bonus run; thankful for Junior Therapists & scalded!

This morning I decided to use the MapmyRun app to see how far I'm running.  So far I've been focusing on fulfilling the time requirements.  I was disappointed.  If I don't step up my pace a little I'm going to struggle to run 5km in this last week of the program.  At least its good to know that I need to step up the pace.  There are 3 hills in my run so that's one excuse for me going so slow.  The stats were 4.11km in 34 mins 17 seconds.

T2 had a therapy session this afternoon with one of his Junior Therapists.  This therapist has been working with T2 for 2 and a half years.  Since the very beginning of our ABA journey.  Junior Therapists are usually university students studying psychology, occupational or speech therapy.  Without junior therapists an ABA program doesn't happen.  They are the ones who put it all into practise, find the reinforcers to motivate the child and make learning fun.  Frequently they have to deal with negative behaviour while implementing many different programs.  They see the highs and lows of family life.  Some stay with a family for years and they become part of the family.  I'm lucky enough to have quite a few therapists who have been with us for 2 or more years.  Today this therapist brought bought craft sets for the kids and delicious home-made treats for us adults.  She is a treasure.  What really astounded me is how excited T2 got about his plaster dinosaur.  He rushed outside and began painting it straight away.  This is the sort of thing T1 does so I'm really happy T2 is interested as well.

T2 is finally drawing for fun!

T2 painting his dinosaur - a present from his therapist.

She even gave my eldest a present - this cool tree that grows crystals

She baked Christmas goodies for the adults

I definitely didn't lose any weight today

Unfortunately, the low point of the day, was me stupidly spilling a hot cup of tea down my front.  It was extremely painful and I was very shaken.  I spent a couple of hours putting iced water on it on and off.  I couldn't believe how hot the tea felt.  It has made me more wary of hot drinks around the twins.  I'm lucky it really wasn't a bad burn - I'm just a baby.  It also made me think of that brave, brave runner who was terribly burned running an outback race.  Her name is Turia Pitt.  What an amazing person.

Week 8 Couch to 5k - complete & social stories.

Luckily I went out early for my run.  I felt slow and it was hard work.  It was cloudy so initially I was fooled into thinking it would be cool but I reckon the humidity was really high, even at 6.30am.  But I did it and week 8 is done and dusted!  Every week I have done a bonus run before moving on to the next week, so I think I'll repeat a week 8 run before moving onto the last week of the Couch to 5 k program.

T2's ankle was much better today, thankfully.  I was getting pretty worried yesterday.


This evening I read a really gorgeous story to T1.  Its one of a series of books by Trace Maroney, exploring feelings.  There is "When I'm feeling happy/angry/sad/lonely/jealous" etc. I love the illustrations and the rabbit feels a little soft when you touch it.  T1 really engages with social stories.  Its difficult to measure if and how much the stories may change his behaviour, but at least he enjoys them and hopefully something sinks in.  These stories are good for all preschoolers, not just children with autism.  Below are a few snapshots of the book. I've seen this series in Target, Big W, the Post Office and Dymocks.  They retail for around $10.  I like how the books focus on increasing greater tolerance of painful feelings (anger, loneliness, jealousy etc) rather than trying to 'get rid of' painful feelings.

The illustrations are really cute

The story leads to discussions about what T1 and Dad do that makes him feel happy

At the end of the books are really helpful 'notes for parents'

The boys are loving the pool.  3 sleeps 'til Christmas!  All my boys are excited.  At lunchtime yesterday, T1 announced he was going to sleep for 4 days and wake up on Christmas Day!  Luckily the gorgeous dog I posted about arrived which was enough to get T1 out of bed :-)

Week 8 Run 2 of Couch to 5k; last day of preschool!

I'm glad I went out early today.  Even at 6.30am it was HOT!  I could feel my pale skin start to redden in the sun.  It felt like mid-morning rather than early morning.  I felt good though, and am excited about what program I'll tackle after the couch to 5k.  I think a 10k program will be next.  Any suggestions?

Today was a milestone for the twins.  The last day of preschool.  It was actually a half day and the preschool had a jumping castle.  T2 has told me he wants one in the backyard.  I said 'what about the trampoline?' and he said 'put it next to the trampoline'!  The parents got there early and the kids sang a few Christmas carols, then I took a few happy snaps of the twins with their teachers and that was it.  Two years ago when the twins started T2 could hardly string a sentence together and only spoke when he really wanted something.  Now he speaks in spontaneous, functional sentences and makes comments about his environment.  I never thought this would happen.  And T1 - well, some professionals say he is 'recovered' and most of the time he is indistinguishable from his peers!

I went to thank the preschool director for all her support (and the support really has been excellent).  She told me she wished I could speak to a couple of parents who are in denial (no names were mentioned or anything and its a very large preschool). Denial - I was there once.  Stuck in a hopeless wasteland.  Its funny but I didn't even choose to be in denial about the twins' autism.  I truly couldn't believe or fathom it.  It was if it was a reality too dreadful to contemplate so my mind didn't accept it.  It didn't help that I didn't know what autism was and didn't know that there was effective treatment.  It hasn't been a fun ride and I wouldn't wish the stress, worry or imminent bankruptcy on anyone.  But there is HOPE.  My kids do have friends, they can communicate, they are making progress and they are truly wonderful people.

Any runners out there?  Suggestions for 10k programs please.

Were you in denial when it was first suggested that there was something 'wrong' with you child?

Week 8 Day 1 Couch to 5k; Manly Beach

A rocky start to the day.  T2 has a 'thing' about water and I left him for literally 60 seconds and he flooded the bathroom.  If it was another 60 seconds water would have been running down the stairs.  Then when we got him to clean it up and he knew he did the wrong thing he ran down stairs and broke a tea cup.  This was all before 6.30am! After a big clean-up I headed out for my run. It involved 5 minutes walking and 28 minutes running.  I felt really good.

After that T1 and I went to the shops and whipped up another batch of rocky road for teachers/therapists etc.  Then our last school visit before the big first day of school.  The twins met their teacher for next year.  Its all really exciting (and terrifying)!

Then it was the last swimming lesson for the year.  All year I've sat with the same two mums at swimming.  We kind of clicked and throughout the year we've all had injuries, sicknesses and talked about the ups and downs of motherhood.  I never mentioned the twins' autism but mentioned that T2 needed support and the implication was there.  They never asked questions or treated me or my sons as pariahs.  They just accepted us.  One of the mum's is moving away and we'll probably never see each other again.  Its funny that we only officially introduced ourselves today though.  We know all the kids names and our work history etc etc.  I'll really miss them.

More Rocky Road!

Picture perfect day at Manly

So gorgeous at Manly this afternoon

In the late arvo today I took off to my mum's to help her look after some Japanese students she is hosting.  She told me they were difficult, and didn't seem to want to be there - I was a little nervous.  Then I thought - "wait, I look after two kids with autism 24/7 - how hard can these girls be?"  And really, it was a piece of cake!  We went to Manly and it was a gorgeous, gorgeous afternoon.  The girls wanted to build sandcastles and I've just realised that I was overenthusiastic about digging gigantic sand holes and my back is now KILLING me - bring on the neurofen!.  After about an hour of sandcastle and hole digging I suggested a swim.  The water was great and I took a board in and one of the girls managed to catch a couple of waves.  I actually caught one too - I'd forgotten how FUN it is to boogey board!  We were in the water for at least an hour.  Then we went for a walk and I tried to get them to talk about themselves.  They were quite sweet really and tomorrow we're taking them to the zoo while the twins are at preschool. I could have done with a rest day - but never mind.  The zoo is pretty a cool place and I can never say no to my mum.

Week 7 Bonus Run; Fruitcake and peanut-free Rocky-Road

Last night my neighbour's security alarm went off at 3am so I overslept a little and decided to do today's run in the arvo.  Basically I just did a repeat of the 5 minute walk and 25 minute run.  After two days of rest my legs felt pretty fresh and I got through the run relatively easily.  Tomorrow I start Week 8, which involves 28 minutes of running.  The end of this program is in sight!

This morning my mother-in-law cooked our Christmas fruitcake.  If you want to make this fruitcake for Christmas you'll have to wait until next year, as the fruit has been stewing for a month!  Today was the day to mix the flour, butter and eggs in and cook for 3 hours.  Then she wrapped it in a tea towel and the cake needs to be wrapped for 12 hours.  My mother-in-law told me today she remembers her great aunt wrapping the cake.  I can't wait to eat some of this cake.  I'm a fruitcake and pudding kind of girl, whereas my husband is a pavlova kind of guy.  Too bad- more for me :-)!

can't wait to sample this

wrapped up for 12 hours

the next day I was allowed  taster -not the size of that slice.  It was amazing!

Later I found a recipe for rocky road (here) which T1 helped me to make for gifts for therapists, swimming teachers and preschool teachers. I added almonds instead of peanuts and jelly snakes instead of Turkish Delight. The family liked it and so did I but I thought there were a few too many marshmallows.  My husband told me a beautiful gesture, that one of the senior members of his staff pulled him aside at work today and said how he knows its been a tough time and gave him $50 (which my husband tried to give back!!).  This gesture brought tears to my eyes.  Its not the money, just the kindness and the thought.  This guy is on the rocky road list - EVERY year!

4 blocks of milk Lindt and 1 block of dark Lindt - yum

T1 was keen to help

We put in jelly snakes instead of Turkish Delight

yummo!

Tonight I'm feeling pretty good after battling a mild headache all day (I wonder if the mega B12 dose helped?).  Although I withdrew from anatomy this semester I craftily downloaded every lecture for the course so that I'll be super ready for Semester 1 next year.  So I'm going to listen to a lecture on blood and read.

Do you have an awesome recipe for Rocky Road?  If so please share, I want to try a few different recipes.

Couch to 5km Week 5 bonus run; Swimming Lessons-not optional for our kids

Went out for a 20 minute jog this morning, which was a repeat of on of the Week 5 runs.  Now I'm ready for Week 6.  The first two runs of Week 6 look a little easier than Week 5 so maybe kind of recovering from the big jump of Week 5.

Then we went to the local shops for the crowning glory of our Christmas tree - a gold star.  One thing I've learnt since having kids with ASD - no breakable decorations!  There are plenty of shatter proof baubles and other hardy decorations.  In fact, we got some really nice decorations from the Reject Shop.  T2 was VERY excited about putting the tree up last Sunday.  Once we put it up he almost got too excited...put it away... I want a star for the tope etc.  He pushed it over once and we just ignored that and walked around it until he calmed down.  Its now been up 3 days and he has left it alone..phew.  I'm pretty proud of this tree.  I reckon it looks magnificent.  There's nothing expensive on it and I got the tree and lights from Big W.  The decorations have been collected over the years with a few more bought this year.   The photos with the lights on didn't turn out that well.

T2's favourite decoration is the cupcake!

I love this angel

This afternoon we had swimming lessons and it was Water Safety week.  The twins have a new teacher and I was worried about the transition but the lesson went really well and the teacher is great with the boys.  He got them to repeat the rule 'never swim by yourself' and they practised falling in and rescuing others safely.  Before the boys started therapy we failed swimming lessons TWICE (I won't go into details as this blog focuses on the positive).  Persevere and try different schools and teachers because the number of kids with Autism that drown is really, really tragic.  Many kids with ASD, including T2, are a little obsessed with water.