Random notes - plus Teeth, Hair and Toenails.

This is going to be a bit of a random post.

The first thing I wanted to mention was that my parking fine in Melbourne was waived! I received the letter letting me off the hook on Thursday.

Whoo hoo!

I'm going to take it as a sign that my recent money haemorrhage is about to stop - or at least slow it down to a trickle.




The second thing is that my Italian trip planning is coming along in fits and starts.

I've now booked my domestic flights, and I'm about to buy a Eurail pass that will allow me to travel between the major Italian cities.

On the down side, finding decent accommodation has been tricky. There is a lot of very expensive stuff and a lot of very cheap stuff too. I'd be happy to find something midrange.

Basically I have to decide whether to:
1) Go through the travel agent and pay a premium, but know that I've definitely got something before I go. Of course with my sense of direction, if it's not next to the railway station there is a fair chance I'll never find it.

2) Book my own accommodation from the squillions over the internet - and hope that my bookings are honoured, that I'll be able to find the place - and that it isn't a total dive. (I've discovered that internet reviews are HIGHLY variable)

3) Take pot luck and find something cheap and close to the railway station when I arrive. But I have to confess that would be my least preferred option.

Anyway, this week I want to finalise some of my day trips. The cooking morning and the Segway tour in Florence are still my front runners. So too, is a little trip over to Murano from Venice. It all sounds quite gorgeous doesn't it?



The last thing I wanted to share something I wrote for Chris' school's 'Sponsor a Child' programme. As some of you know, he is on the autism spectrum. He has been attending an autism specific school here in Tasmania called Giant Steps since he was 8 years old. The school had a shaky start and endured some tough times for the first few years. This project was one of the ways interested individuals, service organisations and family members helped it survived those lean years.

Several times a year the parents are asked to write a short piece about their child's recent progress or something to do with the challenges of living with a child with Autism. This is the latest one and I chose to write about the challenges of haircuts, toenails and teeth. You'll see why when you read it.



Teeth, Hair and Toenails.

As with many individuals with Autism, Chris’ five senses are wired quite differently from yours and mine - and that can make very ordinary sensations quite extraordinary to him.
Looking back, we can now see how his reactions to certain sights and sounds were ‘not quite right’, even as a toddler.

One of my most vivid memories was when he was chuckling in his car seat while we drove past a long avenue of trees in the late afternoon. Hindsight tells us it was the setting sun’s rays strobing through the trees, but at the time we had no idea what was amusing him so much.
Something else that gave him great amusement was lying on his back on a sunny patch of carpet and blowing raspberries into the air. We would hear him laughing at the way the spray sparkled in the sunlight.

Some years later I watched him lift up his shirt and tickle his own bare tummy with a feather – and giggling at the sensation. It wasn’t until much later that I realised what a feat that was. (Try tickling yourself- it’s impossible.)

However, along the way we learned that not all sensations are so pleasant for him. There are noises that we would barely notice, which distress him so much that he clamps his hands over his ears and drone loudly - simply to block out the other noise. He avoids hard foods because he can’t tolerate pressure through his front teeth – and this also makes teeth brushing a chore. His preference is for bland tastes; he has never really taken to cakes, fruit or lollies – which is probably good for his teeth in any case.

Over the years we learned that simple acts of grooming, such as cutting his hair or toenails were enough to send him into a blind panic. That was why desensitising him to haircuts was one of the very first challenges we tackled at Giant Steps when he started there as an 8 year old.

Over the first few months there, he learned – snip by snip and lock by lock- to tolerate the feel and sound of the scissors on his hair, until he could endure an entire hair cut. He may never totally enjoy a haircut, but nowadays he will sit quietly in the chair and let the hairdresser do her work – even though his shoulders still tend to creep up towards his ears as she cuts.
Getting him to let us cut his toenails without sustaining a hernia was a real challenge and is still chancy at times. His feet are very ticklish and it is only on a good day, that he will let me hold his foot without wriggling and squirming enough to turn us both inside out.

The latest personal hygiene hurdle was going to the dentist. Ever since we changed dentists a few years ago, she has been working on getting him relaxed enough to let her actually properly examine his teeth. Up until the change nearly two years ago, getting him to stay in the dental chair was a massive task and he would tolerate a dental mirror in his mouth if he held it himself. Six months ago, and with the help of some medication, he relaxed sufficiently to lay back in the chair and let the dentist gently brush his teeth.

This week her patience and our perseverance finally paid off. Chris allowed her to fully inspect his teeth with her pick and let her brush his teeth with her high speed tool – and he did it without medication. He still tried to sit up a few times and needed quite a bit of reassurance from me, but at least he let her finish!

He was so calm that the dentist feels her dental hygienist can now take over the task and we will return in three months for another clean.

I’m sure there will be more such challenges over the years, but each step forward - no matter how small - deserves to be celebrated.

Cheryl