Archive for the 'ajab' Category

Keywords

Published
by
moby
on August 4, 2008
in ajab
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This weekend marks the start of a new phase of Ajab’s education as I have started him off on how to use the pc. On Saturday, I sat him down in front of our pc, fired up MS Word and asked him to type out the alphabets from A to M, which is what he and his classmates had been taught in school. Little did I realise that he could recognize all twenty-six letters already.

Ajab's First Computer Lesson 1/5

I’m starting him off early on using the pc, even though it’s not in his ’syllabus’ in school, because I was concerned about the slow pace at which his speech is developing. As yet, the only word he readily utters is ‘car’. Occasionally he’d say other mono or duo-syllable words like ‘duck’ or ‘water’, but he would seldom say it when we ask him to. Not having a speech therapist in school for the past few months isn’t helping either - the school is having difficulty in recruiting a new speech therapist still.

In any case I’m thinking that in today’s highly connected IT environment, what better way for him to communicate than via the pc. As show in the case of Amanda Baggs, a very articulate autistic woman, but not in the vocal sense. She has severe functional autism and has never spoken, but read her blog (yes, she types out her posts herself) and you’ll know how intelligent this woman is.

I’m not giving up hope that Ajab will one day learn to get out of his bubble and talk like a normal toddler, but I’m equipping him with the tools he’ll need to survive in today’s world.

Even if it means typing with one finger, one letter at a time, although I hope he’ll learn to type properly in future.

Ajab's First Computer Lesson 2/5

But for now, it’s simply typing out the alphabets at his own pace. I guess he’s good at it because he has very good matching skills and memory. Initially I had to show him where each alphabet was on the QWERTY keyboard. Once he recognized each alphabet and their location, he could do it on his own without much help, although he insisted that I say out loud each alphabet as he pressed the keys.

Ajab's First Computer Lesson 3/5

What impressed Trin and I was the fact that he could sit there in front of the pc and really concentrate on the task, which is something that rarely happens in class. The fact that Ayeed was asleep and Maya was not in the room to distract him helped, of course, but it’s still a rare occurrence to see Ajab sit still for more than five minutes when he’s not watching TV.

Accompanying him in his hand wasn’t the usual string (he still has a string fetish to this day!) but some cotton filling from a cushion he dug out. He kept it between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it, occasionally rubbing it against his nose as he sat typing the alphabets.

Ajab's First Computer Lesson 4/5

It took him a while before he managed to complete typing A to Z. What took so long wasn’t the difficulty in finding the alphabets on the keyboard - he kept repeating his task when just a single letter was out of sequence, even though he’d already reached as far as U or V (he seems to get V and Z mixed up a lot). Whenever he makes a mistake, he’d press the backspace all the way to the start and re-did the whole alphabet all over again, even though I told him he only needed to remove the letters that are out of sequence and not the whole thing.

Well, he did this over and over and over again. I think he must have given it 8 or 9 tries before finally getting it right in typing all twenty-six letters from A to Z in sequence. I’m amazed he didn’t scream and give up in frustration. He simply gave a sigh, dropped his shoulders, backspaced and started all over without much fuss.

Ajab's First Computer Lesson 5/5

I’ll be continuing this ‘training’ until he’s proficient enough with the alphabets before starting him off on spelling, probably next month. All this is of course not taught in school, so I’m hoping he’ll get the hang of it and be happy with his progress.

It’s All So Familiar

Published
by
moby
on July 30, 2008
in ajab and video
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Watch Mr Brown’s daughter, Faith, use the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) book to ’speak’, because that’s exactly what Ajab’s learning in school now (he’s in the same school as Faith), but as the use of the book is still relatively new to Ajab, certain aspects of the communication isn’t to his liking.

In order to request for something, in this case a snack item, the child is supposed to take the picture (out of two pictures; the other one usually shows a drink) of the item that he wants and give it to the caregiver or teacher. That was the initial stage. What Faith is doing in the picture is a slightly more advanced method where the use of an additional “I want” card is introduced in order to help the child learn sentence formation, and hopefully some speech patterns. Therefore the child points to the “I want” card and then the item that he wants. “I want” + bread, for example.

Ajab’s still resistant, as he always is, to using the new card. He still insists on using just the two-card method and many a times he’s refused to even touch the “I want” card. We’re still having problems getting him to change his mindset and accept the different, more advanced PECS method.

I guess Trin and I are luckier than Mr Brown because we get to witness Ajab using pictures to tell us what he wants in class every other day.


Talking in pictures from mrbrown on Vimeo.

Pearly Whites

Published
by
moby
on July 19, 2008
in ajab
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The appointment had been set weeks before. The day had come. Ajab’s first ever dental appointment. In school by a volunteer dentist who had come to his school. After the initial worry and cries associated with him being in a new environment, Ajab warmed up to the school clinic, which included a room for dental work.

The first 15 minutes were spent acclimatising him to his new surroundings while we waited for the dentist to arrive. He quickly warmed up to the place and his teacher used a picture of an unknown subject being poked and prodded by an unknown dentist in an unknown location.

Ajab took one look at the picture, processed the information and quickly proceeded to poke and prod me into his usual habit of pointing at something and asking, no … , demanding that we say out loud what it is that he’s pointing at. In this case it was Messrs. Cow, Rooster, Dog and Horse.

He sat on the dental chair on his own nicely enough. That is until the dentist came and he suspected something bad was going to happen to him and tried to quickly hop down the chair, to no avail. The dentist, along with the clinic nurse, dental nurse, and a dental assistant calmed him down enough for him to lay back on the chair. The plastic tiger, hippo and elephant, along with some stickers helped. For a while. As soon as the dentist started up his polishing tool and it whirled its way into Ajab’s mouth, forced open by a plastic (or was it rubber?) thingy between his teeth, the struggles reached its peak and the crying continued unabated for the next 15 minutes.

The good news was that there wasn’t anything wrong with Ajab’s teeth. Just a little staining from his diet. All that’s needed is regular brushing. No cavities or decay. So I thanked the dentist and left with an out of breath Ajab still sobbing from his torturous experience. Sat him down outside the clinic and spent the next 15 minutes calming him down before returning to class for the last few minutes of the school day.

All in all, it was a good day actually, although I can’t imagine bringing him to a regular dentist who may have no experience in dealing with an autistic kid. I would imagine Ajab kicking the unfortunate and hapless dental assistant away in a hail of flying pans, teeth polishing gel and other dental equipment, so I’m grateful that Ajab’s dentist today had tremendous patience and skill to handle him with minimum fuss. Apart from a little bleeding, Ajab’s teeth are as perfect and shiny white as they can be now.

Work-Life Imbalance

Published
by
moby
on July 18, 2008
in ajab and rant
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The original deal was for me to be allowed to come to work later on three days (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) in order to accommodate me having to be in school with Ajab. That was subsequently changed to two days with alternating Fridays. Fine. It’s still manageable. There was the supposed ‘review’ that was supposed to have taken place some time in June but hasn’t yet taken place because the boss is too busy.

I was reminded today by the exec of her ‘concerns’ about my flexi-work arrangements. She was kind enough to ‘prepare’ me for the inevitable that I might have to cut back on the number of days I’m allowed to come in late to just two per week (Mondays and Wednesdays).

A company has the prerogative to decide how ‘lenient’ it wants to be with their employees’ work arrangements, but when the boss says one thing, then another, then another, it just shows you how caring and concerned she is for Ajab’s ongoing therapy. It pisses me when they don’t seem to understand how serious autism is and how much help Ajab is going to need. Help in this case means having me and Trin be in class with him. They don’t seem to get that, even after I had explained it to them all those months ago prior to Ajab starting school at AWWA.

They have the impression that me going to school means merely sending Ajab there and waiting for him to finish class. I’m not just a driver. I’m an active participant in my son’s therapy. I have to make this point absolutely clear when the ‘review’ takes place. God knows when that will be.

Talk about work-life balance is fucking bullshit when you have a boss who hides behind the pretenses of being an understanding manager, but insists I come to work when she wants, disregarding my needs, which we had discussed and agreed upon, only to change the conditions later.

Autistic Boy Bruised After Speech Therapy

Published
by
moby
on April 24, 2008
in ajab and news
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A therapist(s)/teacher(s) from a speech therapy centre here has been accused of physically harming an autistic boy after his parents found bruises on him following his speech therapy class.

The parents of an eight-year-old autistic boy went to the police when they found their son bruised following a speech therapy class last Friday.

When his mother picked him up from the centre in Orchard Road, she saw bruises and scratches on his arms, back and neck.

Infuriated, she confronted the centre’s principal. What she learnt stunned her.

She told The Straits Times at the family’s home in Kovan on Monday: ‘She told me that my son was violent and that her staff have to deal with this at every session.’

The 41-year-old accounts manager added: ‘He would usually only lie on the floor and kick when he doesn’t get what he wants.’

She and her husband, a 43-year-old sales manager, took the boy to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital that evening for a check-up. They also made a report at the police post there.

The police confirmed that a report was filed and they were looking into the matter.

The boy, diagnosed with autism at age two, is in Primary 2 at an autism-specific school here.

(Taken from the Straits Times)

These allegations, if found to be true, would be very sad indeed. All toddlers and young children have their moments and kicking or lashing out during a tantrum isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but here’s this autistic boy, who obviously has issues in communication, throws a tantrum in class, complete with kicking and screaming which autistic kids are prone to doing, and the result is bruises and scratches on his body?

I do hope for the centre’s sake it was somehow self-inflicted and not the case of a teacher overwhelmed by a student’s physical nature of expressing himself, abusing him in order to control the boy in class.

I’ve had my fair share of hits, kicks, slaps and scratches from Ajab when he has a tantrum. When I try to calm him down by making him face me and listen, he would either slap my face or scratch my cheeks. The reason he does that, I suppose, is to make me stop talking because he either does not want to listen to my explanation or he perceives my talking to be scolding and wants me to stop immediately.

Then there is the classic rolling about on the floor which we have to be careful about, because not only do we not want him to get hurt, we also have to be wary of his legs and arms thrashing about. A couple of times when I tried to pick him off the floor, I’d get a kick from him. Ajab’s teachers advise that during these times, we leave him alone for a while until he cools down and picks himself off the floor. But of course there are times when we don’t have the luxury of waiting, like when we have somewhere to go to and we’re late, for example.

There are times when I felt like retaliating when the stress levels go through the roof during his tantrums, and I’ve fallen into that trap where I’ve hit him, but never would I leave a mark on my son who’s only trying to tell me that he doesn’t want to do something we tell him.

We don’t subscribe to the Straits Times at home and I didn’t get the copy of yesterday’s edition, so I don’t really know the outcome of the boy who was bruised after his speech therapy. Whatever it is, the lesson here is that autistic kids will stretch you to your limits when they have their off-days and you just feel like the whole world is against you, but sometimes we just have to take a deep breath, say a little prayer and get on with life. He’ll calm down eventually, despite us being hit by a tantrum-throwing boy.

It is painful. It hurts. But that’s just life with autism.

Fireman Booboo To The Rescue!

Published
by
moby
on April 22, 2008
in ajab
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Fireman Booboo To The Rescue
Dress-up time in school

He may be short, has long curly hair, goes round barefoot, wears shorts under his fire-retardant suit and likes to do the actions to Incey, Wincey Spider but can’t sing it, but when there’s a fake fire to put out, you can be sure he’ll be there - floppy, plastic hose and all.

Just make sure he has ample cookies and milk.

Otherwise he’ll be a cranky fiery toddler.

(Afternote: I’ve just realised that he was ok with the long-sleeves of the fireman costume. That’s quite unusual. He usually hates wearing long-sleeves, always asking us to roll them up. A sensory issue with long-sleeves.)

Igloo No More

Published
by
moby
on April 16, 2008
in ajab, ayeed and video
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To the occupants of #1 Igloo Tent,

The Department of Sanity has deemed that the noise emanating from the play room/study, more specifically #1 Igloo Tent, has exceeded levels required to maintain the sanity of the King and Queen of the House, especially when the Princess of the House is fast asleep.

Therefore, it is with no regrets that the Department of Sanity hereby orders the dismantling of the tent for storage until further notice.

All toddler occupants of #1 Igloo Tent will be relocated to plush cushions where they can roll about without making a racket on the canvas walls of their previous abode.

Thank you,

Bob the Tent Destroyer.

Immunization Number ….

Published
by
moby
on April 14, 2008
in ajab and ayeed
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God knows how many times we’ve been through the kids’ immunizations. So much so that the nurse at the hospital when we were there for Ayeed’s the other day remarked that Trin looked familiar (we were there just last month for Maya’s). As usual, I couldn’t be bothered with what they jabbed Ayeed with. We weren’t even sure whether he would have an immunization or just a regular check-up that day.

Trin handled him as I watched over Ajab who cut classes to spend the day out with us. A scream was heard (Ayeed’s) down the corridor and a few minutes later, the two boys were reunited in play.

Momo's Immunization Day 3/6

They certainly played a lot that day. From the clinic’s playroom, to the hospital’s playground while I was getting the car (parking’s a bitch at the hospital these days!) to the playroom at Globetrotters at United Square where we had lunch.

Lunch At Globetrotters 22/36

I think this is a great restaurant because they have a nice, big playroom with lots of toys and play equipment where the kids can jump and run to their hearts’ content while us parents dine in peace.

Lunch At Globetrotters 24/36

It was a Thursday afternoon, so the place was practically deserted except for a few diners and the boys had the playroom all to themselves.

Lunch At Globetrotters 33/36

In between play, we managed to coax Ayeed to sit at the table and have something to eat, but Ajab didn’t want anything, save for a couple of chicken nuggets.

Lunch At Globetrotters 16/36

In fact, Ajab loved the place so much that he refused to leave and we almost had to drag him out. The day ended when we reached home just after 3pm. Ayeed was so exhausted that he refused to take another step past our main door and conveniently laid himself down on the hallway carpet as soon as we stepped inside the house. Poor boy fell asleep almost as soon as we placed him in his cot.

His next immunization won’t be until next year primary one, so that’s great. One less kid to send for jabs this year. Only Maya still has the whole series of jabs to go through.

It’s Getting Crowded In Here

Published
by
moby
on April 2, 2008
in ajab
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Two new students and a teacher joined Ajab’s class this week, bringing a total of six kids and three teachers. How’s that for a good student-teacher ratio? That’s not including the 6-8 caregivers/parents who accompany the kids!

In order to make the classroom, roomier, they rearranged some of the furniture. It’s just as cramped as before.

The new kids naturally need some time to adjust to their new surroundings and the more ’senior’ kids like Ajab also have to get used to their new friends, one of whom has a more severe form of autism. He has a habit of swinging his arms in the air and mumbling incomprehensible noises from time to time.

All these changes, including a change in some of the classroom activity schedules is kind of distracting to Ajab and he only took a couple of bites out of his cake during snack time. Adjustments to his behaviour might be needed. Let’s hope everyone can settle down soon.

Up And Up

Published
by
moby
on April 1, 2008
in ajab
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It is the usual grouse of Singaporeans to complain about the rising cost of living in this country. It’s the same anywhere else in this world, I guess. The problem is even more acute when you’re in a tight financial situation or saddled with debts and costs keep rising and rising. We’re blessed with a dual-income household, affording us small luxuries every now and then, but we do feel the pinch when vital or necessary things get too expensive.

One of which is Ajab’s school fees. Sending a child to a special school isn’t cheap, even with the aid of subsidies and other financial assistance, so we were a little dismayed when told that, as a result of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) cutting back on it’s subsidy by introducing ‘means testing’, ie. those who can afford it will have to pay more because of a lower proportion of subsidy available to them, Ajab’s school fees will go up to nearly $500 a month. That was the initial estimates without financial assistance.

We got the news that we were hoping to get the other day when we were told that we qualified for quite a substantial bit of subsidy from MCYS that will nearly halve Ajab’s fees to just under $300. Still quite a bit to fork out, but when we see it’s for Ajab’s benefit and we’re seeing improvements in his behaviour, it’s a small price to pay.

MCYS Letter

Those expensive fees aren’t for nothing of course. The fees are high at Ajab’s school because not only is he getting a special education, the facilities at his school are unlike most ‘normal’ schools. Besides the usual classroom materials, there are facilities like the hydrotherapy pool (heated), a toy library where kids can borrow toys and puzzles to aid their development, and there’s also a pretty good resource centre for staff, parents and the general public. I haven’t been there myself but Trin said there are lots of useful materials and books on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and dealing with children with special needs. There’s even an online catalog where borrowers can search for books and renew their rentals and so on.

Books Borrowed

Ajab Tires Out Atuk

Published
by
moby
on March 31, 2008
in ajab and video
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I was browsing through old videos when I came across this taken almost 2 years ago to this day (28 March 2006). Back when there was only one and Ajab was so easy to handle. :)

Here he was on his regular visits to the neighbourhood playground at his grandparents’ place.

Singapore Beaches Suck!

Published
by
moby
on March 23, 2008
in ajab, ayeed, family, maya and video
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We were supposed to go to the beach like weeks ago, especially after Ajab had so much fun at Pasir Ris Beach during his school outing. We even bought buckets and spades for the boys to play with. It was only on Friday, it being a holiday and all, that we decided to drag ourselves away from the comfort of our beds to enjoy the outdoors.

So we headed to Pasir Ris Beach, the nearest ‘clean’ beach that’s only a 10 minute drive away from our place. Forget about Punggol Beach! God knows what toxic chemicals are in the water, with the port of Pasir Gudang barely a few kilometers away to the north. Huge oil tankers and container ships pass by there every day.

We reached Pasir Ris slightly after 10. The sun was already beating down on us. All the kids, especially Ajab were turning beet red fast.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 3/65

The overhanging branches of the big trees provided a natural, shady canopy at the spot where we chose to lay our stuff.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 17/65

Ayeed was not happy that we stopped pushing his stroller. I practically had to drag him out and force him to stand and walk about. Ajab was already exploring his surroundings, but to his and my disappointment, it was high tide. You see, the beach at Pasir Ris is really just a strip of sand a few metres wide. Once the tide comes in, the beach is barely visible and all that’s left is …. garbage.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 35/65

We were left with no choice, but to just sit around on the benches, and enjoy the nice breeze and stare murderously at idiotic cyclists who insist on cycling on the foot path right where the boys were playing.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 59/65

There was also this group of boys in green looking for some escaped, limping terrorist, but I doubt they would find him at Pasir Ris Beach. Nor the ‘kelongs’ nearby.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 29/65

So we sat around some more. Ajab got bored and started kicking his bucket to see if it would right itself up and Ayeed started licking on the bench.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 25/65

When Maya grumbled about the heat (she’s becoming addicted to air-conditioning like the rest of us), that was the signal for us to leave.

Outing At Pasir Ris Park 51/65

Initially we wanted to go to the Singapore Expo to get lunch from the Halal Food Expo that was going on, but we forgot it was Good Friday and when we got there, the huge car park was closed. Cars were everywhere because of an event by the City Harvest Church and a giant book sale. Off we went to get lunch else where and we ended up at Burger King …. at the airport …. again.

Chikin Pox Alert?

Published
by
moby
on March 18, 2008
in ajab and ayeed
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Due to a small, red circular scar on Ajab’s tummy, he was made to leave school after hydrotherapy because his teachers suspect it might be the dreaded chicken pox. The mark had been there for a couple of days. We’ll continue to monitor him for any new spots and spikes in temperature.

On another note, it seems that Ayeed may be lactose intolerant. He quite frequently gets runny poo every couple of weeks and after a bout of diarrhoea like poo last evening, Trin took him to the general practitioner who suggested that he might be lactose intolerant. He still has half a (giant) tin of Nespray 1+ left. We’ll try and finish that and monitor his condition before deciding on another type of milk for him.

How You Doin’?

Published
by
moby
on March 17, 2008
in ajab and photoblog
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Family Outing: Breakfast At VivoCity 19/23

Picture Exchange Communication System Objectives Confuses Me!

Published
by
moby
on March 17, 2008
in ajab
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All parents of the kids from Ajab’s class were given a sample of the objectives of the picture exchange communication system taken from the trainer’s manual, I guess, to read over the school holidays. Some of the objectives are pretty straight forward and easy to understand. For example:

Objective:
Upon seeing and wanting a particular item and with a picture of that item in reach, X will pick up the picture, reach to the person holding the item, and release the picture into that person’s hand.

Criterion:
Independently complete request sequence on 10 of 10 opportunities when trainer is within 1 foot for 5 different reinforcers across 3 trainers and 3 activities.

Current level:
Reaches for desired item.

But turn the page and the level of confusion goes up immensely when I try to understand what the manual is trying to tell us.

Objective:
Given access to communication book and randomly asked “What do you see?, “What is it?” and “What do you want?” and provided with opportunities to spontaneously request, X will answer question appropriately using “I see”, “It is”, or “I want” Sentence Starter or will spontaneously request desired item using “I want” Sentence Starter.

Criterion:
9 of 10 opportunities completed independently when questions and opportunities to request are randomized and across a variety of materials that are desired and about which either question can be asked.

Current level:
Answers questions individually and can request spontaneously.

I had to read that a couple of times before I understood what the objective actually was. Wouldn’t want to trade places with the trainer at all! Haha!

Lessons From School Implemented At Home

Published
by
moby
on March 12, 2008
in ajab and ayeed
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I’m not talking about homework, which, by the way Ajab has to do during this week-long holiday period. Some handwriting assignment which we haven’t started on yet. And then there’s the picture exchange communication system thingy which we’re supposed to read up on.

As Mo-Beng would say “Wah piang!! Can die, man!!”, because the instructions require you to have a PhD in English or something (will blog about it in the next post). It is that complicated. Oh, the poor aunties who aren’t fluent in English.

OK, back to the matter at hand. As you might know, Ajab’s routine in class is pretty much governed by what’s known as the ‘waiting area’. Before each activity starts and when one ends, the kids will be made to wait at the waiting area. The teacher then hands each kid a picture that says “check schedule” and the kid will then put the picture in the box on the board (each kid has his own colour; Ajab’s is blue), look at the schedule board, take the picture of the next activity (work with teacher, for example), then find the correct area in the classroom where that activity will be conducted, place the picture in the box at that area and then start the activity.

Sounds complicated?

Not really. And it really helps the kids understand what’s going on and what the teacher wants them to do and where to go. That’s why we’re implementing it at home, where we’ve set aside an area next to the shoe cabinet as Ajab’s waiting area. Being highly-trained and well-drilled in the art of following these kinds of instructions, the waiting area is a great tool for us to use when we want him to get ready to go out. All we need to do is tell him “Ajab, waiting area!” and he’ll run to the waiting area, sit on the stool and wait for us to put his shoes on for him.

Waiting Area At Home 2/2

Unless, of course, his favourite programme is on TV. Then we’d have to call him a few times before he’d budge from the sofa, walk backwards towards the waiting area, while keeping his eyes firmly glued to the TV. Most of the time he’ll go to the waiting area immediately, though.

We might do a schedule board for him at home, but I’m just wondering what sort of activities we’d like him to do, given our own busy schedules with housework and having to juggle the other two kids. Ayeed will be taught this picture association method as soon as he’s old enough to follow instructions. These days, the moment I set him down on the floor outside our door to get my keys from my bag, he’d run off to the stairs because he’s seen Ajab climb the stairs and he wants to copy his brother. I wish I had eyes at the back of my head to look out for him, because no amount of calling his name would make him come to me. Me going to Ayeed to try and grab him would result in his quick feet scurrying around me, trying to avoid being caught.

I wish I had a few more arms and legs too.

Waiting Area At Home 1/2

The Weekend Came And Went

Published
by
moby
on March 3, 2008
in ajab, ayeed, family, maya and video
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Time really flies when you’re busy juggling work and the kids. The weekend is always a nice break, though, and Trin and I took the opportunity to sleep in a little later than usual (woke up 9am on Saturday, I think), much to the displeasure of the boys in the other room who were ranting in their own special toddler language that Mummy and Daddy hadn’t come and given them their morning milk, which is usually delivered promptly at 6.45am. One of the good things about Ajab is that he will not climb down from his bed and open the boys’ bedroom door, even though he is able to. He’ll wait (impatiently) for one of us to open the door and that will be a signal to him that he can come off his bed and watch TV and play.

Initially I had intended to go to Ikea at Tampines, just Ajab and I, to get the kids’ work table and chairs and a couple of other stuff, but Trin, not wanting to be bored at home, wanted to come along, so off we went, all five of us, to Ikea.

Shopping At Ikea 1/2

The kids sure had fun with Ajab insisting on carrying the big yellow shopping bag. Ayeed kept insisting on being let down from being carried. But as soon as his feet touched the floor, off he ran in the opposite direction. So poor me had to go running around Ikea chasing him (we HAVE to get another stroller soon!).

A little drama ensued when we reached the check-out counters to pay for our stuff when I patted my pockets and to my horror, my wallet wasn’t there, so Trin had to pay for all the stuff while I prayed hard that my wallet was in the car. Trin kept asking me whether I had inadvertently thrown my wallet into the big yellow shopping bag that Ajab was carrying and that we dumped in the bin when we transferred our purchases to a shopping cart. Wild thoughts started running in my head, but much to my relief I found the missing wallet in the car. I had forgotten to take it with me after I parked the car. First wallet. Next? Forgetting to take the kids out of the car? It has happened to other people, you know?

After a short nap at home (the drama of missing a wallet can take its toll on a person), Trin and I assembled the stuff we bought. It was hard work! The diagrams in the manual made it look so easy. Trin suggested that maybe Swedish people had magical furniture assembling powers. A simple chair and table certainly made me perspire when I assembled it. But in the end we managed it. Let’s not forget the igloo tent that I had difficulty putting up. Lucky for me there was a former girl guide in the house. Haha!

Reading Time 1/5

Maya got a baby gym and play mat to lounge around on and she was very happy with it. I like this play mat because the padding is thick and firm, unlike the other two play mats that we have that are too thin to be safe for a baby like Maya.

Maya's New Baby Gym and Play Mat 1/3

Oh and Maya can now turn from her back to her tummy unaided. She’s holding her head up really well.

That was Saturday. Today we were supposed to go to the beach because Ajab had so much fun the last time he was there for his school field trip that we wanted Ayeed to enjoy the beach too. We even bought two sets of buckets and spades for the boys to dig around in the sand with. Unfortunately, the weather turned grey when we were leaving our house. And it started drizzling soon after, therefore the beach plan got cancelled. So too did our plan to have breakfast of roti prata at Jalan Kayu because it would have been too troublesome getting three kids out of the car and having to juggle an umbrella too. So we decided to head to the one place with food that the kids can run around in at the same time - the airport. Again! This was the third time this year we’ve been to the airport. But the kids weren’t complaining. They had fun.

Sunday At The Airport 1/9
Ajab got himself wet at this fountain. Good thing he didn’t put his face in the stream of water, the pressure from the outlet was quite strong.

Sunday At The Airport 7/9
Both the boys were more interested in the air-con vents at their feet than the airplanes on the tarmac.

Sunday At The Airport 6/9
Maya getting grumpy and wondering why we’re not home yet.

So that was the weekend. Now Monday’s here again. We’ll try and make it to the beach again next weekend, hopefully. But not before I get another stroller. Ayeed needs to be strapped in. My back can’t take the constant carrying, or when he’s running, bending down and running trying to grab a 1 metre tall toddler (no mean feat, mind you!). He’s at that stage where he’s a little too heavy to be carried, but still too young to understand the meaning of “stop running!” or “come here right this minute, and I’m not kidding with you, young man, because if you don’t you’re gonna get it!”. So off he goes running, mostly without looking at where he’s going, bumping into people and walls and furniture. It’s no wonder he has so many bruises on his legs.

Ajab’s First School Field Trip

Published
by
moby
on February 24, 2008
in ajab
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What a fun day Ajab had during his school field trip to Pasir Ris Park on Friday. We were given a choice of either taking the bus from school or making our own way there. Naturally, I chose the latter. After dropping Ayeed and Maya off at the in-laws and Trin at the train station, Ajab and I headed for Pasir Ris Park. As always Tampines Expressway towards the airport was jammed packed with traffic. What would have been a 10 minute drive to Pasir Ris, took us double that time, but we still managed to reach the park at 8.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 2/39

I just love the park this early in the morning. Believe me, this park and its beach is a hive of activity, especially on weekends - full of joggers and cyclists and countless domestic refugees (mostly Malays) camping out.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 7/39

Ajab had a full hour before his classmates and the other kids from other classes came at 9.15. He really enjoyed himself, exploring the beach and playing near the water, shoes on, of course. I doubt Ajab would have such a great time if he had been barefoot, knowing his dislike with the feel of sand and grass on his feet, a sensory overload experienced by most autistic kids that would upset them to the point of tears.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 18/39

The cost of wearing his shoes at the beach is, of course, sandy shoes and dirty socks.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 38/39

And what fun he had with a couple of cats roaming the park, even using the tail of one to fondle his nose with, just like he does with his beloved pillowcase strings on his Smillow (see the video). Notice too how, when he lost his balance while squatting and sat down on the grass, Ajab was very careful not to touch the grass with his hands as he tried to get up again.

When the rest of the kids came, the teachers organised some structured activities for the kids - playing with sand, and sang songs while the kids stood around in a circle holding a parachute-like thing. The kids were also free to explore the playground equipment themselves, much to their delight. And we all know how excitable kids can be at the playground.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 30/39

I left Ajab to do his own thing and just followed him around just in case he needed help with the playground equipment. Tried to make him sit on the swing, but he’s still not confident of his own abilities to stay on the swing and not fall off and kept crying out to me to let him down.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 34/39

I believe we as parents shouldn’t be too worried about what our kids do at the playground and let them explore on their own while we keep an eye on them. One incident came to mind when Ajab’s classmate was climbing up to this slide which was rather high (about 3 metres up), but still safe enough for a toddler to negotiate. Ajab’s classmate’s mother didn’t think so and she was frantically squeezing her way past the other kids up the steps while shouting to her kid to “be careful!” or “it’s too high!!”. Comically, before she could reach her kid, he had already slid down happily by himself, much to her dismay. Me? I was like 20 metres away near a tree having a smoke, watching Ajab go down the same slide for the 1,464,137th time and enjoying the spectacle the woman had created.

Well, as fussy as she was with her kid, she did agree to bring him to the park and join the field trip, unlike one of Ajab’s other classmate, whose parents refused to let him go, claiming that he was “uncontrollable” outdoors, which is a shame, really. I mean, how are the kids going to learn to behave and socialize if they’re not allowed to participate in these activities? Judging from the sweat and the tired but happy look on Ajab as he munched on chips during their snack break, he really enjoyed the day.

Ajab's Field Trip To Pasir Ris Park 36/39

Doodle

Published
by
moby
on February 21, 2008
in ajab and photoblog
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Doodle

Ajab’s depiction of a human face. Kind of looks like me sometimes! I didn’t realise the extent of his doodling on my notepad when he was here in the office with me last week.

Until today.

Pages and pages of nothing but circles. We’re supposed to teach him how to do straight lines to improve his handwriting skills. Soon ….

A Picture Says A Thousand Words - An Update

Published
by
moby
on February 20, 2008
in ajab
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Well, that didn’t go too well. Yesterday we tried out the picture recognition method to very little success. When I stopped the car at the car park at Ajab’s school, he immediately knew what was going on and refused to kiss me goodbye. His protests turned into crying and then screaming, kicking the already foot-printed dashboard of my car.

Trin had to drag him out of the car and that’s when the trashing and rolling about started. Attempts at calming him down by holding him still worked for two seconds because as soon as I let him go and got up from his eye level, he started his tantrums again.

It was a choice of staying put and letting him calm down which would have taken an eternity (we were already late for class) or firmly telling him to stop his tantrum, hold his hand and lead him to class immediately, which Trin did. All along the corridor he was screaming and kept looking back at me.

We don’t really know whether it’s me or the car he’s more attached to. I suppose it’s the car because previously when Trin accompanied him by taxi, he didn’t behave as badly. So tomorrow when it’s Trin’s turn to take him to class again, the teacher will be at the porch to observe his tantrums and hopefully offer a more effective solution. She suggested I turn off the ignition when I stop the car as a cue to him that driving time is over and that he has to get out of the car. I think that shouldn’t be a problem. I’m predicting he’ll start his tantrums as soon as I turn to leave.

We’ll see what happens tomorrow.