Glimmer

 

A better start to the week. Bee has taken an interest in creating some videos and graphics. So we started the week with an introduction to Shotcut and Canva. He was pretty overwhelmed by some of the technical aspects of using these applications, so small steps. Bee has a tendency of becoming impatient and frustrated when he doesn't pick up new skills straight away. He wants to be an instant expert in any new interest, which can be tricky. 

Bee chose 1984 by George Orwell at the book shop the other day. So far he has only flicked through it, but it is the first time in years he has chosen a book for himself. 

Bee also enjoyed some games of pool with us this week, first time in a while he has wanted to. We also went to the library to find out what resources are available for us. We have been looking through the audiobooks available on some of the apps.

Week Seven

 

Another hard PDA week. Bee has really regressed with his social anxiety and is not even wanting to do things he would usually want to do (going for a drive, walk, etc) - not even tempted by fast food or treats. 

In the meantime I have loaded up some new podcasts and made a list of documentaries he may be willing to watch with me. I have rearranged our shelves to see if something interests Bee. I have some geometric nets printed out to be constructed along with some geometry illustrative books. I have also put some geography charts on display (rock cycle, seasons/solstices, land formations). I'm hoping a revamp might trigger some interest and engagement. 

Maybe

 

Another strong PDA week. As Bee and I are both recovering from COVID energy levels were low. Bee's anxiety about being in public and getting sick has flared up since our trip to Perth. He is reluctant to do anything outside of his bedroom.

Next Up

 

The week started positively as we went to Perth to see a live recording of one of our favourite podcasts. Bee was keen to walk around the city and look at shops. The show was great, Bee enjoyed being with his brother. 

Unfortunately by the time we got home I was feeling terrible. The next day I tested positive for COVID and the day after we were all out of commission. 

Podcast's we listened to on our journey were: A brief history of Austria with historian Stephen Beller (croissants aren't French!) and  The Emu War (ep 111). 

Bee has made a bit of a plan with his father about what he would like to learn to cook. 

Week 4

 

The whole house had the flu this week. I managed to broach the subject of school work with Bee, who is finding it difficult to see the value in most things he deems to be "school" related. His logic is that if he wants to learn about something he simply will when he needs or wants to. I tried to explain that he needs a certain level of numeracy and literacy for work and that it isn't always the content of "school" but rather the processes that teach critical and creative thinking skills. On the topic of maths he said he hasn't enjoyed the maths we have been doing so far and I reminded him that we had been doing worksheets so I can ascertain where we need to focus. He seemed to take that on board and I have left him to consider what I have said. 

We did listen to a podcast about The Great Barrier Reef with Dr Helen Scales.

Thursday was Occupational Therapy day.

We also had a reproductive health discussion on Friday. 

Rethinking School & PDA

 

The start of the week Bee was still unwell. It gave me a chance to catch up on a heap of webinars from The PDA Space Summit. 

Although I did not feel I had learnt anything particularly new, I found it really helpful to hear the different perspectives from individuals who have a PDA profile, advocates, educators and professionals on the topic. I definitely came away more confident and reinvigorated.

For Bee something came up in therapy that he isn't ready to discuss with me yet, so I decided this is not the week to put forward my ideas for how to change up his learning. After everything from the webinar I felt it would be best to give him some time to recuperate from being ill and space to figure out what is going on in his mind. 

We listened to a podcast about evolution with Dr Richard Dawkins.