Moving on up!

It feels like yesterday that I was sitting down, ordering my thoughts and feelings about Noah’s first day at school into a silly little blog for the internet. I was so worried about how he would cope with all of the changes he was about to face, and I just couldn’t fathom how my tiny little boy who couldn’t speak was going to cope in this whole new environment.

Fast forward three years later, (and I mean fast!) and everything has changed! Noah is coming to the end of his time at infants, and embarking on the juniors in September! He’s dealt with different changes and challenges during this time, but come September, everything will be new.

He’ll he getting a new teacher, in a new classroom, in a new building, with new faces, and probably biggest of all, he’ll he getting the transport bus! A whole new way of getting to school! It’s an opportunity for him to gain some much needed independence from us, as well as build new relationships with his peers and support staff.

I’m nowhere near as worried about how he’ll cope as I was before. I know he’ll embrace it all in his stride, like he has all of the changes we’ve made in the last few years.

I don’t post very often on here anymore. I find it difficult to know what to say, I don’t want to just share the positives, but I’m conscious of protecting Noah’s privacy as he ages, so I’ve been quiet!

Since last we spoke, we’ve moved home, introduce a speaking device, doubled down extra hard on toileting, dipped our toes into SEN clubs that Noah can attend without me, and I’ve become heavily involved in his school PTA. It’s been busy! And Noah has just go on with all of it.

I get the occasional side eye when he sees me at school events, but he’s happy enough that I’m there. Moving house was reasonably easy too, instead of getting upset that he left one house before school and came home to a different one that evening, he was just thrilled to have a massive living room to run laps around!

Our biggest challenge has been toileting. Noah is physically so ready and capable, but his communication difficulties have been the biggest obstacle we’ve faced. We’ve been aggressively strict with a toilet routine for nearly a year now, and it’s paying off, slowly. Introducing the speaking device (VOCA) has helped hugely. We’re able to upload social stories and work through each stage of the routine with him, so he knows what to expect, and how to advocate for himself.

His VOCA goes with him everywhere, it supports all aspects of his learning, encourages communication on his own terms, and it’s teaching us a whole new way to communicate with him too. He definitely understands its importance because he willingly carry’s it around with him.

His SEN club is a relatively new change. I’ve never taken him anywhere that I can safely leave him other than school, really, so it’s been both terrifying and amazing for me too! He absolutely loves it there, and can access it all through the holidays as well. It’s a resource that’s few and far between, and we’ve waited a long time for something like it to be available for kids like Noah and it’s made such a huge difference to us!

I will try and write more often. I’m certain there will be more stories to tell, more challenges we will face and definitely more fear and worries to process, but for now, life is good. Noah is happy, developing well and in love with his new garden, and we seem to have the balance right. Here’s to the juniors and Yr 3!

(You get a video compilation to make up for how long it’s been since I posted!)