It's been a long time......

It has, hasn't it!
We have had soo many things happen.
Qasim is no longer a fox, he changed schools and is now a hedgehog.
We had a fantastic sports day at his old infant school, an amazing leavers concert, a very teary last day. But we made some life long friends, met some wonderful people and learnt a lot about where not to go to junior school!

Yes, we had a major upset were the proposed junior school where we were going to showed us just how incapable they were when it came to dealing with a child who had special needs. And then showed us how aggressive they could be when we decided it was not the place to be.
It also showed us how great the level of care at his infant school was.
Well, it looks like the new school has a lot to live up to.
I hope they're up for the challenge.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

How long has it been??  Tooo long!!
Life has caught up with us yet again!
So what has been happening since September?

Well, Qasim is full time in school, and absolutely loves it.  His class is called the Foxes, and he loves being a fox - he has so many friends now, which for a child with moderate autism would have been unthinkable this time last year.
He has some brill teachers who have really helped him settle in.
The only down side to this is Qasim is going to have to leave this school, and start another one in September. The little man will be leaving infant school and going up to junior school.
If only we could take his whole class (building, teachers and all) along to junior school with him, that would be great. but we have to have a whole new environment, new teachers, new everything to get used to again :-((

We have had Wishbone Day earlier this month as well. The whole school wore Yellow in support of Wishbone Day, to raise money which was fantastic. We have some cracking photos of his teachers dressed as bananas, and Spongebobs. Someone was dressed as a Crayon, but I missed it - hopefully I can find them from somewhere.

Oh and how could I have forgotten - Qasim is a big brother again. Baby Zak was born in April, so it's all been busy busy. No wonder we haven't updated for a while.

And whats next??
SPORTS DAY - I am super excited - more than Qasim I reckon.
I can't wait to see what he does.
So keep watching, more updates on the way, we promise!

Now, if I can just find something to bribe his school with to keep him there another year..................

Starting School

The time has come for Qasim to start going to school. We have home educated him so far, due to there not being any suitable schools in our locality (thanks for that government cut backs).
But eventually we have got him into a mainstream school with two aides, a nice power chair for his own independance and safety, and enough written instuctions on "What To Do In Case Of Fracture" to sink a ship!  I'm sure it's not just me who has ever been a little on the over cautious side when sending their OI'er into school - well that's what I'm telling myself anyway!
So, off we go to school, me more nervous than Qasim to be fair. And where are the tears of don't leave me mum? I don't know either. - I'm still waiting for them to appear.
I have still been on site in case of emergency and while his aides get used to handling him, and he has only been in for two hours max at a time until he gets used to it - but no seperation anxiety - really??
Ah well, maybe he just can't wait to get away from me!
But what ever the reason, he is absolutely loving his time in school.
Maybe when he is there for a whole day, he may start to miss me - just a little would be nice........

So, we have had a bit of a break, and not been here for a while. Why, I hear you all ask - Well, we felt very brave and headed to France for our first summer holiday in 6 years. We stayed on a British campsite in a small french village for 2 weeks. Qasim spent all his time in the swimming pool, watching the birds and roosters, or playing chess with his older brothers. He had a great time!
It was a bit scary to be honest, going abroad with an OI child for the first time. What if we have a break? What if we need hospital treatment and can't speak enough French? We spent weeks planning beforehand, finding out where the hospitals are, how to get to them, and how to say Brittle Bones in french!
We got there in the end, though, and had an amazing time. The campsite, Camping de Courte Vallee, even held a quiz night in aid of the Brittle Bone Society, and raised £100!
We had no problems, thankfully, and we'd love to go there again next year.
Thanks to Jo, Alistair, and everyone at Camping de Courte Vallee for a fantastic break.

What's in a Snowflake??

Many of us who have children with OI call them our snowflakes.  Sounds crazy, I know, but it sums up what OI is in a nutshell (or snowflake!)
Snowflakes are fragile, and every one is unique and different from the next.  The same applies to OI.
There are several types of OI, from mild to severe. OI is caused by a collagen disorder that impacts on many elements of health, including bones that can break from little or no apparent trauma.
Qasim has type III OI which is severe. But two kids with type III can have completely different signs of OI, fracture rates, levels of mobility, etc.
I'm a mum of a type III kid, and can handle him safely, but would never consider handling another OI child without being shown how that kid can be handled.

So that's the boring technical sciency stuff over and done with, now onto real life and fun!
Because our snowflakes are KIDS first and foremost. OI just adds a little spice along the way!