Well I was hoping for a better week this week and I got it! Yay!! Well, kind of as we did have an unpleasant event to go to near the beginning of the week.

But let's start at the beginning - Monday. Monday was bank holiday and the start of the school 1/2 term. We don't really have a holiday as such, but as it's the only time we can catch up properly with people who still go to school, it normally turns out to be a holiday, albeit a very sociable one. Monday was also the day after my birthday, so as I was still in birthday mode the morning was spent with me reading one of my two Jeremy Clarkson books that Callum had given me, Phil pottering about and Callum was happy on the Wii. The afternoon we each had our own visitors which was kind of weird, but kind of neat too. Callum had Callum and they switched between playing upstairs with the train set and playing on the Wii with the occasionally venture into the garden for a bounce on the trampoline. Phil had an old friend Tony and so they were happily drinking beer and cooking dinner. And I had my beloved daughter pop in after her weekend away and got more pressies (a cuddly owl - I love owls - and an EtchASketch - cool)!!

Tuesday was a damp day in both respects as it was raining heavily and we had a funeral to go to! Never sure about Callum and funerals as it's a pretty intense event for any child, but especially one on ASD spectrum. They don't always feel or understand empathy, so the fact that everyone is sad must seem a bit strange to them and also having to sit quietly for any length of time is always very hard. But I have to say that Callum did superbly!! I explained that there would be people very upset and that he was to be respectful of them and not be noisy or fidgety and try really hard not to have a hissy fit just because he was getting bored! And he didn't!! He sat beautifully through the service; he even sang the hymns and he spoke to those who spoke to him politely and shook their hands. There were a few people who he'd never seen before and strangers are always looked upon with a little distrust by Callum as he is not an Aspi who will speak to everyone and anyone; he is one that won't speak at all until he feels completely comfortable with them (this can take anything up to a year in some cases!). The fact that he not only spoke, but had physical contact made me very proud of him. He was happier once back at the house (his uncle's) as they have a Basset Hound called Floyd who he adores.

Wednesday we went to Riverside with my friend Lesley who has an autistic child who is a year and a half older than Callum called Louis. When they were both younger it was quite difficult when they met up as Louis is a physical boy and Callum isn't, but as they have got older they seem to be able to sort this out to a happy medium that suits them both and they get on pretty well. We had a nice walk along by the river where the boys went off exploring the beach and the rocks and any puddles they could find which culminated in a rabbit poo fight which was generally frowned on by us mums, but which the boys found highly hilarious!!! Hmmmm!! Then afterwards we went back to the play area so that we could have a cuppa and the boys an ice cream (ensuring that they'd washed their hands first of course!). All in all the afternoon was lovely and we ended it before anything got too out of control or hyper, so pretty perfect!!

Thursday was the usual trampolining class and Callum had a good lesson. He was a bit hyper this week though and rekindled his liking for Lauren by launching himself at her every 5 mins and pinning her to the ground (which puts the 'Callum isn't physical' bit out of the window, but he has known Lauren for nearly 2 years, so it actually doesn't if you think about it). I did try to tell him that boys shouldn't do that to girls and he should be treating her a bit more gentle, but Lauren informed me that it was ok and that she got worse from one of the other boys she knew!! Hmmmm, not sure what to make of that, but as long as they were both happy who was I to intervene. Just kept an eye out in case it got out of hand, bless them!!

Friday he had his Speech and Language Assessment in Chatham. He did really well considering and it proved what I already knew. Callum has trouble with combination sounds and breaking down words and needs to step right back with literacy to Infant level to gain verbal understanding of letter sounds, combination sounds and word formation before attempting writing. It's weird; I already knew this, but I feel a lot better now that I've been told that it's ok to do that and that it is exactly what Callum needs. She is sending me a letter to confirm the assessment and give me some ideas. She says that his understanding of language itself is brilliant and that he is intelligent and a quick learner, but that to successfully learn to write, he needs to go back to basics. This is partly due to his Aspergers and partly due to lack of confidence and the fear that he has instilled in himself about the subject, but that he should be able to grasp it quickly if taught in the correct way that suits him. It seemed that musical rhythm was helpful so I think I will go down that route as well as introducing a lot more craft things to help with his hand coordination and strength and have a look at poetry to help with word endings and beginnings.

This weekend he has enjoyed his dad's company a bit more as I was out for the day on Saturday and they have been to Riverside again with the dog, spent lots of time in the garden and he's been in computer phase instead of Wii.

As I said at the beginning, a much better week and no meltdowns! Fabulous!