Another day, another one of those days……

Absolutely no sign of the sun. Unremittingly damp, cold and bleak. Our poor outdoor solar festive lights have now officially gone on strike. Switch them on and there is just about enough power generated to muster a dim flicker and then nothing.

I can’t begin to tell you just how wet and muddy I got on today’s walk. but it was still good to be outside. There is always things to see.

That is a seriously impressive Hay Snake.

Yesterday I talked about the fantastic reading progress Hawklad has made. Reading history textbooks is a real statement. But things are never straightforward. He still really struggles with writing. Getting his ideas out on paper. Here his dyslexia still dominates. His handwriting just won’t develop. His typing is laboured and inaccurate. His ideas don’t reach the paper.

He feels so much frustration when he can’t make much progress in this area. And he does feel real frustration. He can now read. He has an amazing mind and can visualise things that are way beyond me. Ask him something like to list all the British Monarchs in order, and it’s a breeze for him. Ask him who where the defendants at Nuremberg and he can name them, including the verdicts. Ask him to work out a complex sum in his head and he can do it effortlessly. Yet ask him to add to simple decimals together and he is lost. Ask him to tell the time and as hard as he tries, he just can’t. Ask him to list the alphabet and he just can’t get the order right after D.

It’s tough seeing your son get so down on himself. I feel his frustration intensely. As a parent you feel like you have run out of ideas. It’s impossible to not get down on yourself as well. But that’s not helping anyone. When tomorrow comes and Hawklad is again trying his heart out, and he will. He hasn’t given up. He won’t give up. I’m the one who needs to get going again. So that’s why those walks in nature are so important. Even in bad weather and unlike those solar lights, I do recharge. So we can try again tomorrow.

38 thoughts on “Recharge”

  1. I can empathize with your frustration especially when you sense your own child’s frustration. But as with the growth he’s made with reading, the growth with writing will surely come in time. Good luck and never lose hope! 🙏👍

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  4. It must be very frustrating for you both. If you use speech to text option, that will help him at least get his ideas out there. But perhaps the school won’t allow it. All the best Gary. Always remember that my prayers are with you

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  6. Isobelle can only do well in art. Can’t add up , make change, tell if it’s day or night, know when to eat, or go to the toilet. She is adorable but can’t do anything for herself. Don’t beat yourself up, we have all done it, and it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference. Just enjoy yourself as best you can 🎄❤️

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  7. Perhaps a solution with writing would be to use speech to text software. I was using Dragon text way back in the late 1990s when. it. was. necessary. to. make. a. small. pause. between. words. and. I. could. achieve. over. 200. words. per. minute. fullstop.

    There’s been huge improvements since then and normal spoken language is recognised almost flawlessly these days. I seems an obvious solution for anyone with fine motor control issues (common for autistics) and/or dyslexia. I should think any teacher who was interested in improving communications skills would welcome speech to text where it helps help with communication. But perhaps that’s not the intent of UK schooling?

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    1. We have started trying to see how he gives with that. Problem is that the government has strict rules on what can be used in exams. His only option is to have a human scribe but that doesn’t suit him, he never gets a chance to meet the scribe before he has to work with them. Plus he losses marks as he can’t get any of the set grammar marks which go with each paper these days.

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  10. Question: Does Hawklad use eyeglasses, either seeing or reading? I don’t think you have ever said. From some of your above statements, it would seem he could benefit from one, the other, or both. Just reading between the lines…

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      1. Do you have a cheap store, like unto Dollar Stores in Canada. Buy him a pair of reading glasses, with about a 2.0 magnification. They should cost less than a £. If they help, good. If they don’t, save them for when you get old, you will probably need them. Why waste a buck, lol.

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  14. It seems to me that special minds such as your son has should be valued. There are so many gifted minds that are ignored because they are different and in our world different is dangerous. Hawklad’s generation may have a breakthrough . This is what I wish for him and for you. Best wishes to you both.

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  15. I agree with Yetismith – that your boy’s generation will see a breakthrough – at least in terms of what society values and fosters. Last time I looked ASD was 1 in 49 children. Some of my very favorite people. Good job, dad!

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  18. Your photography is amazing, you have real talent.
    Hawklad is also an amazing human being and already has won’t the hearts of so many of your blog readers. Sympathies with his struggles, and i hope he gets as much practical assistance as a person can get to find helpful in this kind of situation, but with it without it, you are a formidable team and your relentless striving for better, is admirable.

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  20. Pingback: Recharge – Nelsapy

  21. Have him write using voice to text dictation softwear. He seems to think very well and saying what he wants to say vocally will cut out one impediment. Just encourage him to write with his voice!! I for one want to read what he would say.

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