- Views 0
- Likes 0
What a great week!
Exciting News!
On Friday evening we had a call from the LEA to say that they had come to a decision about whether or not to help with the funding of Henry’s program and after an X-factor style pause the answer of YES!
It is fantastic news as not only will it take the pressure off us having to fund-raise as much but will also mean that when we do fund-raise hopefully we can start saving to take Henry to Autism Treatment Centre of America for an intensive program. We just have to wait and hear how much the LEA are able to contribute to Henry’s program. We are just so pleased that we are over the first hurdle and really do appreciate the support of all those at the LEA.
Then of course Sunday was the parachute jump. There are lots of photographs on the fundraising page, but it was such a wonderful day. The weather was perfect (how lucky were we!) and the jumpers were amazing and we had so many people come to support us and them that it was fantastic. It was even more perfect because it was one event which Henry could be part of it and people could actually see that he is still around and we’re not fund-raising for a holiday of a lifetime or anything!!! Henry had a great day and although it totally exhausted him, he loved being with the other children and it was so lovely for two of his volunteers to see him outside of the playroom. The Skydivers have raised so much money for us it is unbelievable and we will always treasure the memories of that day as it did feel so special. Thank you to everyone involved.
This wonderful day was then followed by an equally amazing day when we had an out reach with Sean Fitzgerald, a qualified Son-Rise Teacher. To meet Sean and hear what he had to say was just fantastic. He has helped us all in so many ways and the icing on the cake was seeing Sean with Henry in the play room which really was out of this world. It has made us realise just how much we would learn from an intensive in America watching teachers at Sean’s level working with Henry and advising us. Our monthly consultations with Carolina, a Senior Teacher in America, are invaluable and we would not have come this far without them and we just feel that an intensive program in America could really accelerate our program so we are going to seriously consider this option again. The waiting list is currently 12 months (which is good!) so we will probably make our decision soon.
Today I have had a great session with Henry. He wasn’t particularly flexible today , in fact he was very controlling, but after seeing Sean, which solidified the techniques Carolina has been coaching us on, I was able to really enjoy the game that he wanted to play and really felt that I had a real connection with him and that I had ‘hooked’ him and motivated him. From there i was able to weave the half the game in that I had taken in (he wasn’t too keen on the other half!!) but for me that was a real achievement as this is where I think i have been struggling lately. So preoccupied with my games and activities that I haven’t been starting by just enjoying the game Henry wants to play and today this really paid off and I was able to work on spontaneous speech and eye contact.
His diet is still a real problem and we are currently trying to introduce a new brand of sausages! Not easy! Although Sean managed to get him to eat one piece but he hasn’t touched it since or before!! We are also just about to send off the application form to go start going down the bio-chemical route to see if we can help him by sorting out of the level of toxins and intolerances in his body.
Busy times! Speak to you all soon x
