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I thought it was about time to have a positive post! I am so pleased that Joshua has settled in to mainstream school brilliantly. He loves it. He is very sociable and his teacher has told me that he is very popular within the school.
He is very keen to learn and his Nystagmus currently is not effecting his confidence at all. He has bounced in everyday and has n’t said once that he doesn’t want to go in.
His school originally tried to get 15 hours a week funding for a Teaching Assistant but were denied. I was originally slightly worried about the amount of hours they were hoping to get as i wanted to see how he gets on first. They assured me the TA would just be an additional member of staff so they could teach in smaller groups etc. They however did not get the funding and at the moment Joshua as excelled and doesn’t need it. This of course is at present he is only in reception and will probably need more assistance as he gets older…..but its a good start!!!
His teacher and school have been fantastic and have the correct equipment (laptop. CCTV etc) and are aware of his additional need but have not put the impairment before Joshua. He is treated exactly the same as his peers.
Joshua has a Visual Impairment Advisory Teacher who goes into the school to help with his I.E.P and to make advisorys. When ours recently visited she put a request that the concrete steps where highlighed in yellow on the edges and the black supporting post located around the school were painted with yellow stripes. Also a hat and sunglasses box were put in place near the back door for easy access. A VI Teacher usually visits every half term.
Joshua is progressing at exactly the same rate as his peers.
All in all it has been a better school start than i could have ever dreamt of!!!
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Today I was in the kitchen watching the kids play outside. I was watching when I realised they were trying to pick up a wasp (or bee) I rushed outside thinking they were going to get stung as Joshua was trying to pick it up with his fingers, whilst getting close trying to see. I rushed outside to warn Josh that he was actually trying to pick something up that would give him a sting only to find it was a lady bird.
Joshua has never been scared of tiny insects, he will literally put his face within a few mm to get a closer look, which is why I though he was about to get stung. Myself and Jen have warned him about getting stung and as he is 4 I know it is aware, although not yet been stung, that he needs to be careful. Amelia on the other hand hates them, just mention spider and she runs, really fast.
We had purchased an insect collector from Colchester Zoo but it was made of plastic and was soon covered in scratches resulting in poor visibility. I found it hard viewing inside so I can only imagine how bad it was for Josh. I will have to look online for alternatives, but to be honest Joshua would kindly hold a worm, spider or ant.
On a recent trip to a Zoo Joshua had the chance to get up close and hold a snake…You can see below Joshua used his null point to get a better look.
I have updated my colour scheme to Yellow and Black as these colours should be easier for partially sighted people to read, I hope that this change does visually improve this website.
Please comment or provide feedback and suggestions.
Our new forum goes live onto http://nystagmusblog.co.uk on Monday. We have had problems replying back to people and this is a new simple way of retaining contact. It is also a great way to network with other parents/careers and people who have the condition. It also has similar features to Facebook and allows you to have your own profile page and message inbox etc. Are aim is for people to be able to post a question or worry and for it to be replied to that day either by us or other members. Another advantage is that if there is a new product or info we place on the page you will get an alert. We hope you support this new feature and join as a member. We look forward to networking!
Many thanks
Jen and Ash Bacon
Please check out some of the earlier posts on the website if your child has just been diagnosed as these are probably more relevant. Just keep scrolling down the blog. We are soon going to be putting on a forum so that many common questions and answers can be seen by all.
We are soon to be moving house (fingers crossed) and i am quite worried how this will effect Joshua as he does seem to hate change. Im trying to get him exctied by buying new things for his “Digger bedroom” which he seems to be enjoying. I will keep you posted on our progress and how Joshua finds it all.
Jen
With all the snow that about I though I would update my header photo to reflect the current weather conditions.