It's weird to be told that it's good that your child rebels.

I've always thought how lucky we were to have a "model child", one who doesn't whine and does whatever been told to.

Not lately though. Since his adjustments, he has been active (actively seeking us to play with him), talkative (repeat sounds that he heard us say), noisy (at precisely the moment you wanted to listen to the news), cheeky (playing tricks on us), nosy (wants to know everything and ask what, why and how), imaginative (his imaginative play is improving very quickly) and cunning (using tears to get what he wants).

Neel from TASS came today (the last time we saw her was a week before Christmas). She was really pleased to see the changes in Alex and especially impressed with his potty training success. We told her about Alex's recent changes in behavior and she said it's really good that he is making his own mind and knows what he wants. This is definitely a good change.

We also discussed a few things mainly about obtaining a Special Education Need Statement for Alex. She said we should push hard for Rainbow Resources if we feel strongly that Rainbow is the right place for Alex. If the panel agrees with our view, the Council will have to provide enough funding for Rainbow to start a new class in September 2008. That's good right?

Anyway, we were also told that the Area SENCO has temporarily stop Inclusion service on Wednesdays because Alex is having his SALT (Speech and Language Therapy) at nursery. The reason because it's costly to do both at the same time. I could see their point and it's also quite stressful for Alex when he has to do both on the first day back at nursery after a long weekend.

It costs the Council GBP 35.00 per child/session on SALT and on average, a child like Alex requires at least 5 sessions per term. Inclusion costs roughly the same and again around the same amount of sessions per term.

Neel will arrange a meeting with everyone involved with Alex including myself to discuss a new IEP (Individual Education Plan) for 2008.

Alex achieved almost all the targets created for year 2007 - able to feed himself, drinking from open cup and potty training. I must say that credit must be given to those working in Teddies as well. Alex gained a lot from going to nursery and they are really good when it comes to working with parents.

Looking back, it was an uphill struggle when I first started blogging. Potty training was the main dilemma, then came the diagnosis, after that - the acceptance and finally changing our thinking made a huge difference in Alex.

I felt so much lighter now ...... not because I lost weight due to running around after him asking if he needs to pee every so often but because my son is able to do things for himself. To me, potty training is the final milestone to achieve ...... I know, it's a long way to go .... still. But each achievement is like a piece of the puzzle - completing the big picture.