It is Thursday again, and it seems like the weeks are flying past. This week was mostly good with a couple of downs, plus one big dramatic Arley meltdown. It is so hard, because there is very little we can do to stop a meltdown in its tracks, and it really takes it out of him. :( He is so regretful afterwards, and he just doesn't understand that it is not his fault (it is also hard for us to remember this in the moment as well). But we muddled through it.
We took the kids to Mooney Beach for a picnic at the inlet and then a walk around the headland. Arley did a lot of moping at the inlet but then had a good time on the walk, which surprised me because I thought it would be the other way around. Some days he is so hard to get out of the house and he can make things quite unpleasant for everyone. If he has friends around, it is a different story though. Mooney beach is absolutely gorgeous. The headland is just stunning. It ended up being a successful outing, which doesn't happen as often as we would like!
Another day I took the kids to the Big Banana water park with their friends Will and Charlie. It was a great day. Will and Carmie took off together, and Arley and Charlie hung out, so it worked out really well. Afterwards we took the kids to a park for more play, but they still weren't done so then Will and Charlie came to our house for a play. We are so lucky to have found these friends. The mother is lovely, and the kids all gel really well.
Jeffrey has been teaching Carmie to skateboard, and she is loving it. She has her own style, and she seems happy being 'goofy footed'. I'm totally proud of her, because she is pretty much the clumsiest person I know, so it's good for her. Arley has started riding his bike again, which is great because it was causing him a whole lot of stress and anxiety before we moved. He is still nervous on it and often gets off to turn corners (which is maddening!) but he is getting better and seems happy to do it.
Yesterday I took the kids down to Shelly Beach in Nambucca to meet up with the homeschool group down there. They didn't really want to go, Carmie in particular. We decided we'd give the group a few more tries before we gave up, and boy are we glad we did! Yesterday we had a blast! The kids made a new friend, I made some new friends, and Shelly Beach might be the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. Seriously. The kids swam and jumped waves, dug holes, climbed trees and buried each other in sand. It was a brilliant day, and we are now looking forward to joining this group every Wednesday, where ever they meet up :)
This morning the kids had their second equine therapy at the new place, and it was SO much better! Carmie was on the perfect horse for her, and I could tell she was getting her mojo back. Arley was on the same horse as last week, which is too much horse for him, but the horse is a gentle giant and Arley seems to like him. Arley really didn't want to go, and ran and hid when it was time to get on his horse. However, the lesson ended up with high fives and smiles, so I am really happy. There apparently is another smaller horse Arley could ride but he is supposed to be a bit too feisty, so she's going to train him up a little more first. I think Arley will do much better on a smaller horse, but for now he is happy, so that is a giant win!
The kids and I got our hair cut this afternoon. The hair dresser and I convinced Arley to go really short (we have been trying to get him to go short for a few years), and he did under a lot of pressure. He looks so good and will be much cooler now! Carmie got hers quite short too, and she looks like such a little pixie, really cute.
So, this week I went to a disability support company to find a new occupational therapist for Arley. I am SO happy. I have found a team of specialists. I had an hour and a half meeting going over all of his history. He has been assigned a support worker who is a young guy who likes computers and gaming (perfect!), and this support worker will come out every two weeks to hang out and work with Arley. Then he goes back and all the specialists convene and discuss his therapy. The OT will tell the support worker what to do, or step in herself if necessary. After he gets accustomed to the support worker, they are going to introduce him to a behaviour specialist who will also come out bimonthly and work with him. They will also come with me to my yearly NDIS meeting for support and funding help. I feel so positive with this group, and I can't wait for it all to start.
So, all in all a good week!
A quick vid of carmie learning to skateboard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-17GXF0z3M
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