Off on his hols

Yes, it's that time of year and the boy is off on the annual school trip. last year it was Lanzarote, this year Ayia Napa, if you please! Electra Village to be precise. Reviews and photos here The school have been before and always had a good time. I won't be able to stand the silence so I'm off to Wales to see my mum. Jordan looked most put out. He clearly expected me to be weeping in a darkened room until his return...

Impersonations

Jordan is currently developing several impersonations which is interesting as he has always had problems with expressive speech. Maybe repeating certain well worn favourite phrases bypasses the usual linguistic pathways.

His three voices of choice are Cartman, Jimmy and Timmy all from the mighty South Park. Crude? Oh yes. Staggeringly offensive? I should hope so. NO ONE is spared. Some of the best characters (with disabilties) that we've seen in a very long time? Why else would we be watching...

The lads

So anyway, I was at a coffee morning at Jordan's school yesterday to have a look at their shopping and independence photos.
Sure enough Jordan spent the entire time trying to trick me into saying the word 'arse'. Sigh.

Here is a pic of him and his best mate Luke.

Aimee Mullins

Chromosome 9

Well, the plot, as they say, thickens!

Ongoing genetic testing has revealed that Jordan has extra material on Chromosome 9.
Testing continues and we should know more in a couple of months. Looking it up on the web revealed this could be the cause of Jordan's developmental delay! Blimey! Not the meningitis then.

'Other changes in the structure or number of copies of chromosome 9 can have a variety of effects. Intellectual disability, delayed development, distinctive facial features, and an unusual head shape are common features. Changes to chromosome 9 include an extra piece of the chromosome in each cell (partial trisomy), a missing segment of the chromosome in each cell (partial monosomy), and a circular structure called a ring chromosome 9. A ring chromosome occurs when both ends of a broken chromosome are reunited. Rearrangements (translocations) of genetic material between chromosome 9 and other chromosomes can also lead to extra or missing chromosome segments.'

Annual review

Today was Jordan's annual review. As I've blogged previously the next couple of years are crucial as they are concerned mainly with transition. Jordan's statement of special educational needs ceases and his funding passes to Adult services. I've heard many bad reports of how help falls away when the disabled young person becomes an adult. I certainly had the impression from the Connexions representative that she would work flat-out to prevent the support from breaking down during this process.

Anyway, it all went very well. The school is pleased with Jordan's progress. His father and I find him a delight. Jordan came to the review from his careers lesson where they were exploring road construction as a job. Nothing like a bit of role play! Jordan said he does want to go to college, that food tech was his favourite subject and he would like to make pizzas for a living. The Connexions rep said that there were various organisations such as Remploy, Bede and Toucan who support the disabled young person in job placement, which was very heartening to hear.

And that's the funny thing, as a parent I've always kept my ear to the ground and picked up all sorts of information over the years. Apart from Contact-A-Family, is there a one-stop-shop for all info relating to the raising of a child with disabilities?

Narrow-minded parents scare mother of disabled son...

There's been a right to-do about Cerrie who presents CBeebies because she's missing part of her lower arm. My lovely three-year-old niece was born without her right hand. Whilst playing in a ball pool over the Christmas hols (watched by her grandma), she was surrounded by other little kids who had a good look at her affected arm. In response to their questions, my niece replied "It's alright, it no hurt!" whereupon they all ran off to play together.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Good day to you.