I meant to write long before now, as a conclusion to our year but time has run away from me and this is the first time I've really had a minute to jot down some thoughts.
Since I last wrote two things have happened that have been a huge encouragement to me and to S also. Before that, why NED? Well, S's dad one night was playing a word association game with the boys. Amongst other words, one of the words was "mum". Quick as a flash S came out with "Non Educated Delinquent" to which dad and big brother fell about laughing! This has now stuck! In my more fragile moments its not the best title to be labelled with and yes it would have been nice if almost any other adjective more commonly associated with mums was used but then the rational side of me likes the banter and remembers that S has not a deliberately nasty bone in his body and wouldn't for one minute intend any hurt! So, NED I seem now to be!!
So, encouragements...
In the past year I have been involved with planning an event for Christian women. One of the other girls on the committee is a retired head teacher. I didn't really realise this until fairly recently and joked one night that if she would like to have a wee reminder of teaching then at any time she would be welcome to teach S. to cut a long story short, S spent a couple of hours with her being assessed on his reading and his maths. This has in so many ways been an encouragement for me. To be honest I was slightly apprehensive having S assessed! What a nightmare if he had regressed!! S was last assessed 3 months before I took on the responsibility for his education. He did well in the assessments - phew!! Not only that but to hear him chatting away to my friend and co-operating with someone who really was a complete stranger to him at that point was brilliant.
That confidence has grown even since then. We have just come back from holiday. Each year we go to a big convention with 4000 people. As part of this there is a great kids programme which is split into various age groups. This was our 7th year there. Up until now S has never coped well with it and opted out midweek. We never want to force the kids when they are on holiday to do something like this but alongside that we are more aware than ever of the fact that because I have S at home with me all the time now I really don't get any time out. The time the kids are at the clubs is a rare breather for me. For S's age group the club is full of things 8-11 year old kids love, games, gunge, lots of fun, alongside more quiet activities too. As you might imagine though that with gunge comes hyper kids and a lot of noise. This has been the major stumbling block for S for the past few years. Throughout the year S has spoken about the club and made it his aim to overcome some of his difficulties. Well, the boy did well! He went to every single session and loved it!! His granny gave him some ear plugs which he used once a session but he came back so happy each day. One day, his leader did say he was not on great form and did write on a post it note "Do Not Disturb" which he then stuck to his face! But other than that he was great. I am so so happy for him. The sense of achievement for S is enormous! He could feel part of things for the first time and thanks to the commitment of the leaders, his one-to-one and S himself he will remember this year for a long time!
So big achievements and encouragements as we step onto the threshold of a new year. I think not just S needs to start the year positively but I do to and reflect on just how far we have come. To see him so happy last week gives me hope that one day in the not too distant future he might be reintegrated into a school and be able to access the many things that kids in general completely take for granted.
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