So we all agree...

We've just got back from Mstr A's parents evening. I haven't decided if I'm pleased or depressed by his progress.

I again reiterated that we are happy with his academic progress. I know his teacher gets frustrated because he won't complete any tests for her to mark him by, but she is aware that his literacy & numeracy skills are way above average. He has two hours one-one each week, so she can usually get some evidence then, which keeps her paperwork up to date. We do very little academic stuff at home, so as I said to her, he's obviously learning it at school, even if he's not showing it.

So we moved onto his social skills. I asked if there had been any improvement, and she basically said, no, he's still getting worse. That's despite all the extra effort we've been putting in at home, school & other activities. Unless someone is there constantly reminding him to do things, he just fidgets/stares into space/starts shouting or throwing things. Unfortunately, it is not possible for someone to be there constantly on top of him at school.

On the plus side, she'd taken my last discussion to heart and had bought some books about special needs & agreed that he was showing many of the signs of autism, so she is going to try to incorporate specialist activities into the class. The Educational Psychologist has been to see him, although no report has arrived yet. Teacher said that in her opinion nothing is likely to be sorted out till next school year (Sept), but I reckon we might be able to push things forward quicker than that.

So now we're kind of in limbo. We're all agreed he needs specialist help, but until he's diagnosed we can't get it, or even really work out what would be best for him, as there are so many varieties of autism and treatment/management techniques. We've been having a ot of tantrums at home recently too. It's hard to remain patient all the time, even though I know shouting at him just sets off a screaming fit. It seems that no matter how many times I say something (like don't push the baby over) it just doesn't sink in. Then every now & then he'll be a gorgeous 5 year old & I think maybe I just expect too much from him.

Not today though. I took him to school screaming, I picked him up screaming, He was screaming again when Mr A came home, and again by the time we left to go to the parents evening. We narrowly avoided more screaming when we left the school, and put up with shouting while sorting out supper. Another screaming fit before going to bed, finished the day off nicely.