Educational Psychologist Visit

Mr Messy had already planned to work from home today so he could attend a dentist appointment, and as he came home from work last night feeling really ill, that worked out well. He didn't have to face the two hour drive to work, but he was also too ill to go to the dentist, so I've rearranged that for in a few weeks time. It also meant that Mr Messy was here when the Educational Psychologist visited to discuss his report for Little Prince's statutory assessment for a Statement. The Ed Psych is a very laid back kind of guy, when we first had meetings with him I thought he was ignoring what I was saying or dismissing it, however, once I read his reports on our meetings it became obvious that he really does listen and take in everything even though he doesn't appear to be doing so :-) He spent almost an hour here and made copious notes, he also read us the draft copy of his report, and once he has added in our input he will send us copies. He was very sympathetic about Little Prince's problems and recognised that he has a lot to cope with and does very well considering all the issues and problems he faces. The Ed Psych also discussed with us a parental support group he is hoping to set up in the local area, which we readily put our names down for, apparently we are his first recruits :-) He also spent a while discussing Buddhism with Mr Messy and it turns out they have attended some of the same Buddhist Centres, small world!

Mr Messy rang the phone company who were supposed to install the shop's phone line yesterday, he was put on hold for over half an hour, so wasn't in the greatest temper when he finally got to speak to the right department!! They couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for why they didn't come yesterday, trying to say it was a tentative date, which is not what the letter booking the appointment said! Mr Messy has made it perfectly clear that they had better not mess up the next appointment, fingers crossed for their sakes that they don't!!

Little Prince's swimming teacher rang up to ask if we still wanted his private lessons, and if we wanted to start on Friday. I think his lessons are a great help to Little Prince, increasing his confidence and safety in the water, given his current lack of impulse control he needs to be as safe as possible! And also it gives him a physical outlet for some of his energy, although his lessons have never yet tired him out at all, except for once when he did butterfly stroke for most of the lesson. His teacher has also attended a Special Needs training course during the holidays and is currently setting up a SNs swimming group, which she asked if we'd be interested in Little Prince attending. I said it would be a great idea, to get Little Prince used to swimming in a group setting again, but also warned her about his chaotic behaviour during the holidays. We have agreed that Little Prince will start attending the group once his teacher thinks he has settled down enough to cope with integrating into a group.

I've been feeling a bit down since the meeting with the Ed Psych, discussing all the issues we are having with Little Prince really hammers it home how much he (and we) are struggling. My mood wasn't helped by Little Prince coming home in a foul mood. Despite me explaining at the start of the week that he wasn't having friends over to play (or going to a friend's house to play) until next week, he insisted on pestering to do this. He slammed into the house, stamped all the way up the stairs and slammed his bedroom door. He did come down a few minutes later but was still in a very angry mood, and it took ages for him to calm down again.

Drama Teen had her first day at college today, and she was very nervous this morning. I was very proud of her for managing to get up when her alarm went off, which is an hour before I get up and I'd warned her I wasn't getting her up, she would have to be responsible. She still seemed nervous when she left for the bus, but strode out looking fairly confident. When she returned home she said it wasn't as bad as she had thought it would be and seemed to have enjoyed herself. I think getting back into the swing of homework has come as a bit of a shock to her system after so long without having to do any!

Little Prince and Drama Teen were at logger heads almost from the moment she walked in the door, which is pretty normal but is rising to epic proportions at the moment!! I managed to persuade Drama Teen to look after Princess Lollipop in the lounge, and took Little Prince into the kitchen with me while I cooked tea. Little Prince was fairly happy to do jobs around the kitchen and it kept him and Drama Teen apart! However, when I asked Little Prince to get me something from the lounge, he managed to get Drama Teen to screaming pitch within moments of stepping into the room!! I really don't know how to help them get along any better! Drama Teen makes no allowances for Little Prince's difficulties, and Little Prince deliberately winds her up and is more violent to her than anyone else in the family. I wish there was a way to fix it :-(

The ironing service rang while Mr Messy was out meeting with a potential client, so I sent him round to pick up the first lot of completed ironing. Its great to just have to put it away, and to have the ironing mountain gone :-) They rang again later in the evening to say the rest of the ironing was ready to be collected on Friday afternoon. Me and Mr Messy are going to work out a budget for getting them to deep clean the house and hopefully they will be able to get started soon. I am really looking forward to getting the house in order, as the mess and clutter are really getting on my nerves now.