I thought I would give you a little update on The Sensory Seeker. He turned 6 at the end of April and is currently in year 1 of a Mainstream school. In previous years the topic has come up about him staying back a year and we had decided not to. Well I am (touch wood) pleased to say that this hasn’t come up this year. He is making remarkable progress in all areas and we are so proud of him.
Speech and Language
He has met his target for Speech and Language of talking about what happens next (although the SALT did agree that this is with guidance from his TA). He still keeps calling girls he but now knows that he should be saying she and does correct himself. He needs to work on “why” questions but I am noticing even more that things are very black and white. For example he was asked why was the girl standing on the stool and he was unable to answer the why because he was too busy explaining that she was naughty and shouldn’t be! His reading and amount of words he knows by just looking at them is coming on in leaps and bounds.
I think the second pack of the Alphablocks Reading Programme has helped with this. This set introduces the “letter teams” and blending them in a fun way with activities and games – not forgetting those all-important gold stars to reward him when he gets it right. I feel that books each progress well from each other, and the second set from the first. They are interesting and colourful. I do like the flash cards and think that they are very beneficial for The Sensory Seeker as they are so visual.
Diet, Health & Hygiene
Obviously there was no miracle and he still eats nowhere near as good as his brothers but I can hand on heart say I think that the free school meals provided at school have really helped give him the push to try new things. It is all too easy to give in at home, worrying that your child may starve – but at school there is only the food provided and no other option. He asked for grapes in his cereal this morning and his dad accidentally put milk in the bowl too – BUT he still ate it all.
The Sensory Seeker is regularly using his brown inhaler morning and night, and even reminding me to give it him. We have had far less (toileting) accidents in the day and night – and now even sleeps in his normal pants.
I guess swimming also comes under this section and I am really pleased to say that he is coping well in group swimming lessons now. In fact I do not have to watch him all the time when he has a lesson now and so was really surprised at just how well his swimming ability has come along on our recent holiday.
Maths
Well he is super whizzy at maths and is not only counting but making number bonds up to twenty.
Gross & Fine Motor Development
The Sensory Seeker’s gross motor skills are also coming along well if watching him on his Microscooter is anything to go by! He still needs to develop more of a sense of other people’s space but physically he is able to use his body to move well.
He still isn’t holding a pencil properly but can write legibly with support. Given the option he preferred to use a pencil over the tablet which is great news. We keep on providing him with things to help develop his fine motor development. LEGO is a big favourite in our house and it is everywhere and played with every day at all times. It is the only toy I have all over my house!
Busy Busy Things That Go 2000 Stickers Big, Fast, loud and tough!
There is nothing better than a good sticker activity book to help develop those fine motor skills. This book is just perfect for my little boy with it being packed full of diggers, buses, planes, boats, demolition vehicles, tractors, ambulances, fire engines, trains, scooters and so on. There is a great mix of colouring in, stickers and activities such as mazes, follow the line, spot the difference and observation skills. I love how all the stickers give a lot of free expression and creativity without making any mess.
It was also very beneficial for helping him develop more of a relationship with his older brother (aged 7) as they were both able to share the book, as well as work on it together.
ISBN 978-1-4723-6699-3 £8.00 Parragon Books Ltd
Friendships
The Sensory Seeker seems to get on well with others and has certain people he asks to play with. I am sad to hear him talk about how other children get invited to each other’s houses and he doesn’t but that could have absolutely no relation to his special needs. He is being invited to parties and no-one is nasty to him. The Sensory Seeker does still need help in maintain play going as he can join in but then doesn’t understand properly how to play by other’s rules.
We were sent Busy Busy Things That Go 2000 Stickers Big, Fast, loud and tough! and the Alphablocks Reading Programme free of charge for purposes of review. All words and opinions are my own.
Although it was really difficult at the time I just tried to focus on the fact that it was The Sensory Seeker that wasn’t coping. That it would pass. I knew it was to do with lots of changes and possibly tiredness. Instead of punishing him for his behaviour we tried to make things easier for him (without spoiling). We relaxed our boundaries (such as a complete ban on computer games in the week) in return for behaviours we desired (such as eating all of his breakfast before school). 
School seems to be going really well for The Sensory Seeker. I haven’t heard any concerns and he seems to be progressing at a good rate. He has got really independent at going into school and doing the things he needs to do (hanging up his coat, ticking what he wants for dinner) before slotting into playing alongside his peers. He has had a few toileting accidents (more so when there was a lot of change) but other than that I am really happy with how things are. The Sensory Seeker even seems to be trying now foods as he now has cooked dinners at school. It is good to hear him counting and reading particularly, as when he was hardly talking it was hard to imagine him ever doing these things. He doesn’t like his shirt tucked in or his buttons done up – so we are currently not forcing him to.
The Sensory Seeker now goes to Boys Brigade, Football club and ICT club (all with his older brother who is 7 years and 4 months): He seems to be coping well (again just toileting issues). He is able to play (mainly with LEGO) without supervision or needing things structured for him. At home The Sensory Seeker can be easily wound up – but think that’s more of a brothers thing. He is occasionally eating with his fork/spoon but mainly with his hands still. Currently we are still concentrating on the fact that he is eating, trying new foods and textures. The amount is small and we do have to barter with him a lot. Bedtimes he goes down pretty much without fuss in routine. Sometimes we relent and let him go to sleep in our bed. He is more and more ending up coming into our bed in the night and the one time he didn’t he had an awful nightmare that I had died. Other than that he’s got much better at not touching people after I have told him and even was easier to have his hair cut this time. The Sensory Seeker seems to have a much larger attention span that he used to and has developed his own interests. We recently took our Microscooters to the Forest of Dean to do the