Been away

For a couple of days!! Woo Hoo for me!!

I left DH in charge and disappeared to my Mum's for a few days, and can I say it was wonderful, having to think about nothing, just for 48 hours!!

I've been re-charging the batteries and had a wonderful time!!

I got back today, so am still a little unorganised. Added to which DH has re-booted the computer whilst I've been away, I think it is going to take me a while to find everything again, as he didn't save my favourites before re-boot!!

Also half-term started around here today, so things might be a little quiet around here for the next week, as my access to the computer is fairly limited when there are children in the house!!

Be wonderful if the weather stays the same though! Anyone know what the weather's supposed to be like next week??

Channel 5

The Boy with an Amazing Brain

Channel 5 showed the most amazing programme last night, it was about a Savant, he could work out math's problems to hundred decimal places. Apparently pie was his favourite number, and it sparked some interesting brain wave results when the put in numbers that shouldn't be there.

The advantage he has over most savants is, that although he has some characteristics of being Autistic he is still able to communicate with other people. Apparently he is a scientists gold-mine in that he is able to describe to scientists how he see's numbers in his head, he describes them as a landscape, and he is able to read the landscape. Every number has a shape, and apparently when you multiply one number by another he see's 3 shapes, the one in the middle being the answer. The aim of the programme was to look at his amazing abilities to see if he is a genuine savant or if he has trained himself in someway. The final test was to learn Icelandic in a week, which is an extremely difficult language to master....and he managed it!

Part of this programme were two other savants, one who could draw the most amazing pictures at great speed, he was quite severely learning disabled/autistic, and could not communicate other than through his drawings, which were quite simply stunning.

Then there was the guy who the character Rain-Man was based upon. He was lovely, he too was quite simply amazing......funny thing was at one point he actually looked like he was reading the telephone directory! Not sure if that was a pun thrown out at the film!! Shelley pointed out this morning that he looked as if he was reading two different pages at the same time, but again the most amazing memory.....apparently he retains everything he's ever read.

They had a specialist in Savants on the programme last night and apparently there are only 50 known world wide.

Be interested

to know what you think to this:-

Cord Clamping injures the brain

Bad Blogger!!

I can't believe that it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted anything on here.

What have I been doing??? Well I have to admit the week before last was a bit hectic with the amount of building work going on and having to spend some time out of the house in order for them to fill the foundations.

This was the view out of my front door one morning week before last. Its a concrete pump, and I have to say it was absolutly fascinating to watch. It was huge!!

Last week however was very quiet, no builders, due to a hold up with the floor, so I've kind of spent the week relaxing and doing as little as possible!! Nice to have some time out every now and then.

Eating Disorder

Michael has a swallow disorder, pharyngeal stage swallowing difficulties, which basically means that he has an abnormal swallow reflex. He had a videofluroscopy done, at GOS Hospital in London. The video showed that Michael stores food in his mouth, and when it hits the back of his mouth/throat his swallow reflex is absent, so Michael literally has to slide food so far down his throat before the reflex actually kicks in and takes over.

This has left him with major problems when it comes to lumpy and solid food. Anything he eats orally has to be a smooth consistency. Lumpy and solids when they hit the back of his throat set off his gag reflex, and result in him vomiting.

We have struggled since Michael was 11 months old to get him to eat anything other than pureed foods. When we moved onto second stage baby foods, the lumps would hit the back of his throat and make him gag, and vomit.... He then became aware enough to know that what he was eating in no way resembled what the rest of us were eating, so he had a plate of pureed and a plate the same as everyone else.... but it wasn't long before he practically stopped eating altogether.

Over the last 4 years the only things Michael has been able to swallow sucessfully have been yoghurts, soup, melt-in-the mouth foods, such as cheese puffs, weetabix, mashed potato, with lots of gravy, he does like his gravy my son!! Anything he has eaten has had to be soft and almost puree texture. So for him to take a 'solid' boiled egg, and to remove pieces small enough for him to be able to chew and swallow is amazing!!

I am eating a boiled egg

Cuddles