I love the bones of him

So where are we on our journey? J is coming up to his 5th birthday and to say life has changed so much for him would be an understatement.

I approach his next phase in life with as much trepidation as high emotion and excitement. We got that phone call. He has come so far that he is to move to mainstream in September at our local school. Wow wow WOW!! I am still pinching myself but with every moment of elation I get a feeling of fear in the pit of my stomach. How will he cope?

I now face another battle of getting him the necessary resource hours and the impending battle of access to an SNA. I spent a lot of today making phone calls and chatting to a very informative lady. I can feel the pressure building up again, the pressure to fight in order to get the best for him. I try not to let autism take over but I have to get into a certain frame of mind to make all of those phonecalls. His school want his psychological report rephrased and the HSE say that they have been informed by the Department of Education that they are not qualified to quantify the need for an SNA. I am going around in circles once again. Oh we'll get there.

Imagine my J will be in the same uniform as his big brother. I will cry like a loon that day

Oh my J, he is a dote lately. His literal thinking keeps us entertained and the joy he brings to this house is indescribable. What a clever little boy he has turned out to be. He is amazing with his iphone and retains everything he has ever heard. Academically he will fly through school. His speech is amazing. It is still very repetitive but much less echolalia and tonnes of tone and inflection. On a tired day he sounds like Borat's cousin but on a good day he is just like any kid his age. He is full on from the moment he wakes until he eventually sleeps at night. So many questions, his mind is on super speed all day long. His take on the world is comical. I love his character andI love what he brings to our family

Meltdowns are still a daily occurrence but not a problem as they are manageable. J has started swimming with WASSA which is a local Autism Charity set up by parents which helps kids on the spectrum integrate into mainstream activities. He is brilliant in the pool

We still have to work on the world around him. He still has no sense of danger, height, traffic, stairs and lots more. Our latest visit to A&E landed him with a minor fracture and a cast.....sigh. He even knew the way to the X-ray room. More broken bones

Life is busy with J, a super cute baby and a near 9 year old but I love it.