Now I have dreams he will be able to cross the road safely, be looked after well by his respite home carers, not run off in the supermarket to decimate the Thomas the Tank Engine magazines for the toys, tell me he loves me without me prompting him, being able to use a knife and fork properly and other self help skills.
Joel is now 13. He turned 13 on 23rd July. I got so excited about his birthday I got a cake made two weeks before when his Grandmother visited us from Cornwall. I then made a cake for his actual birthday which I don't recall him eating. I didn't mind though he's got an amazing knack to get away things like walking off half way through opening a birthday present. Because he can't be bothered with it. I am so used to this now I don't mind as he's the most amiable boy in the world. He never complains about anything, never demands the latest Xbox game, never actually demands anything other than his ipad, tickles, back (which means piggy back from anyone who will give him one), trampoline, swing and cake or cereal which is a constant.
He's still got a gluten dairy free diet due to his digestive system and intolerance to these things. He eats well actually and I am benefiting from this diet too though gluten is so hard to keep out of everything and just this Sunday we went for a pub lunch and he had about three 'doughnuts' as he called them. They were actually yorkshire puddings and he had an adult meal! I am now ordering him adult meals! Crikey and his shoe size has hit the roof he's size 10 nearly. How on earth did that happen? Joel still has outbursts of crying and this pains me to see as I still don't know why he cries. Well apart from his autism which must send him round the bend. Not being able to tell me how he feels or anyone else locked in his own head must make him sad. But he is generally a happy boy and loves his siblings Max and Holly.
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| Joel with his respite group on a trip to a castle in East Sussex |
He has regular cranial osteopathy and the paediatrician I saw with him yesterday said he'd made huge improvements in six months as Joel was very compliant and let the doctor check his ears without any fuss. This is normally a nightmare for a doctor, mother and child with severe autism. Perhaps Joel is showing signs of maturity. Him and his younger brother Max like to get up to mischief all the time and Joel will do something which makes Max laugh and then they will both get involved. It usually involves trashing something but at least they have a good bond! We have so much to be grateful for with his respite house who he stays with five nights a week. He has been to Dorset last week and went to Corfe Castle, Marwell zoo and enjoyed the Purbeck coast. This gave the family a break as we took him to Cornwall for our annual Summer holiday and he loves being there swimming in the sea every day and staying with his beloved Grandparents. Our lovely Portuguese au pair Joana came back for the third year in a row. We love her and she's part of the family now!
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| Joana and Joely on holiday in Cornwall 2016 |
Everyone who meets Joely is somehow touched by him. He has something magical about him. He's an enigma to me but I know he understands every word I tell him and he's definitely responding more to me. He even told his dad to 'shut up' the other day. (said like this 'shuuuuttt aaaaahhhhhp' ) So perhaps the teenage hormones are really kicking in. There are no text books for this sort of thing. So will keep doing the next right thing....whatever that is...x
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| Max and Joel Cornwall 2016 |
