It’s been a long time since I blogged about Bailey and his journey through autism. He will be turning 10 soon and he has grown and achieved so much that it is almost overwhelming.

When Bailey was first diagnosed at age 4 his behaviors were so bad I could never have imagined that he would attend a normal school with over 600 other children, that he would be riding his bike to school unsupervised or that he would be spending any time at all at home alone on the school holidays without any parents there to watch his every move. Six years on and those things are all true.

Another fantastic, if not slightly scary, development this year is that Bailey no longer has a classroom aid. When this was first put to us by the school at the beginning of the year I was sceptical. I doubted that Bailey would be able to get on with his work without the constant supervision of an aid. Apart from some problems on two school excursions where he was unsupervised and practically ran-a-muck, he has done quit well. His teacher has reported that he has very little trouble with him in the classroom and that he only needs to improve in two or three areas. I’ve noticed that Bailey is far more comfortable without the aid constantly interfering with his day and that he feels more “normal” in his class.

Bailey’s handwriting is attrocious and until he can just use the laptop to do all his work nothing will change in this area.  Bailey’s teacher is not worried about it as he can see the content of the work is wonderful, his knowledge is great and he understands the lesson.  I guess he just won’t be getting that pen licence any time soon!

Out in the playground is a different story. Bailey still dose not have one best friend that he plays with all the time. He tends to drift from group to group, he will get bossy with other children telling them how to play “his” game and then they tell him to bugger off. Quite normal behaviour for 9 and 10 year old’s, just a little annoying for Bailey. I’m sure his own desire to be a friend and to have friends will ensure he adjusts his behaviours to fit in.  This is also something that all children need to do at one time or another. 

Bailey goes to Auskick with his dad every Saturday morning which is wonderful.  He is one of the bigger children there but there are still others his age and size so he isn’t the only big boy out on the ground.  Auskick teaches children the skills of Aussie rules football which is an integral part of play for most boys his age.  He was lucky enough to go with his Auskick group to the MCG to play footy on the hallowed ground and also watch his first AFL game.  When he got home I expected him to be overwhelmed by the size of the ground and the fact that he had to leave his dad to go with the other parents onto the ground … he was just fine.  So much has changed in just a few months.  The first time I took him to Auskick four years ago he went once and said “I’m never going back, those kids are far too rough”.

And so to today.  Bailey loves the computer and browsing the internet.  He loves to use paintpot all the time and does the most amazing drawings.  I am sure this will figure heavily in his future.  He also loves to ride his bike to school and next year, once his big brother goes off to high school, he will be going to school on his bike alone.  Way too scary a thought for me at this stage.  Bailey also loves to jump on his trampoline and is now on his fourth one.  He out grew the first two and broke, yes broke, the last one.  His new trampoline is huge and very strong so it should be around for many years to come.

Another of Baileys passions has always been Lego, specifically Bionicles.  He  goes on their web site and looks up all the information about them, he finds out which one’s are coming out soon and then begins the “can I have, can I please have” until he gets the one he wants.  I have never minded buying him any Bionicle he wants as he plays with them for hours on end.  Another thing that Bailey is able to do is read the instructions to put them together.  This has confounded us as they are quit complicated and involve lots of pieces, but within minutes he has them together and is playing with the newly made Bionicle.

I would have to say that compared to six years ago I have very few worries regarding Bailey’s growth and development.  My main concerns are his weight, he has always loved food and constantly asks when his next meal will be.  He will eat without any idea of how much he has had or if he is full or not.  We have introduced the “I’m out” saying at the dinner table to try and get Bailey to recognise when he is full.  His weight has become an issue at school and is stopping him from playing with the boys he likes as they say he is too slow.  If we work it right we may be able to use the desire to fit in with weight loss.  I hope next year to start teaching Bailey how to count calories, and how to measure his daily intake in the hope that this knowledge will aid in his self control with food consumption.  This sounds rather dramatic for a ten year old but the way Bailey understands things is very different to other children.  If there is a logical explanation he gets it, if he understands the science behind it all he will have a much better chance of grasping how food consumption leads to weight gain.

There are still fundamental things that Bailey does that relate to Autism.  He has to have routine, he doesn’t enjoy change but has learnt to accept it.  He will still try to wear clothes that he loves even if they are two sizes too small.  He chews paper and then hides it under the couch cushions for me to find when I am cleaning up.  He makes odd noises which we have to tell him to stop as they drive you nuts.  But most of the time Bailey is just an ordinary, very wonderful, almost ten year old boy.  

TTFN